The Liaison
by pierre15208
Summary: Break out the penguin suits and the ugly dresses, our favorite Oh! My Goddess couple are tying the knot. The Eye of Heaven ended with a wedding invitation, and this is the story about Kei and Bell's upcoming nuptials...along with a very interesting phone call from Kami-sama himself. What could be on the Almighty's mind?
1. Part1

**The Liaison**

**By Pierre R. Wheaton**

**6/7/2012**

**Welcome to "The Liaison." I thought that the 'Eye of Heaven' would be the last fanfic that I would write because I wanted to start working on an original fantasy work. But being that I finished 'Eye' with a wedding invitation, it would make sense that I would put out one last piece that would cover THE wedding of the Oh, My Goddess universe. I don't intend on this being a very long piece, and this time, I want to try and keep the tone light hearted. **

**But as I've learned since writing 'Song of the Goddesses' and its sequels, these things take on a life of their own, and don't always end up the way I intended. So it may wind up going longer than 'Eye' and have our favorite couple saving the Universe yet again. **

**As usual, all the normal disclaimers apply. (This work is not and should not be considered part of OMG canon, the characters included in this work are the property of Kosuke Fujishima-sensei, but the narration is mine), and surprisingly, I have had no real negative feedback from those who have read my pieces. To those who have read this stuff and found it entertaining, thanks for your kind words of encouragement.**

**This piece is set approximately one week after Keiichi and the Goddesses return to Earth after their adventure with the Eye of Heaven, so please read 'Eye' as necessary to get caught up.**

**Enjoy.**

**©2012, Pierre R. Wheaton**

**Chapter 1**

**One Week after Keiichi and the Goddesses return to Earth.**

**1:30pm October 22nd**

Keiichi walked into the Tea Room to find Belldandy sitting at the low table engrossed in a magazine. Which was not surprising to Kei because in addition to cooking, cleaning and taking care of the temple chores, Belldandy also loved to spend hours reading magazines. Mostly to find new recipes to try out on Keiichi. The amount of knowledge about human life that she attained reading books and magazines never failed to astound him. Belldandy had fully immersed herself into living as a human homemaker and was better at it in the short time she was on Earth than even the most accomplished housewife.

What was surprising to him was the type of magazine she was reading. It was a bridal magazine with hundreds of pictures of models wearing beautiful and no doubt, expensive wedding gowns. He had a feeling that this turn of events was going to be trouble and was about to duck out of the room before Belldandy called out to him.

"Keiichi?" she asked.

"Y-yes, Belldandy?" Keiichi responded with a slight stammer.

"What is a wedding?", as she cocked her head in confusion.

Keiichi gulped, broke out in a cold sweat and struggled to gather his faculties together. He thought to himself, _"Don't tell me Belldandy wants to get married! I'm not sure I can handle that right now!"_

Nervously, Keiichi responded, "Well Belldandy, a wedding is a ceremony where a man and a woman exchange vows in front of their family and friends that they will love each other and pledge to spend the rest of their lives together. When two people do that, it's called marriage. Why do you ask?"

Belldandy said "I was just reading through this magazine and I see so many lovely dresses, and I'd love to be able to wear one of these just for you I think that I'd look very nice in one of them."

That was the understatement of all time.

"Bell, you'd look stunning in any dress you wore. It doesn't have to be a wedding dress."

"I know, Keiichi, but wouldn't you love to see me in a dress like this one?" she said, holding up a page of a particularly fetching gown. She had that look on her face that Keiichi could never resist, a look of innocence with a tiniest touch of naiveté, and...**the puppy dog eyes**. No one could do the puppy dog eyes like Belldandy.

Not that she really needed to employ that tactic of persuasion as Keiichi would do pretty much whatever she asked him to do with few exceptions. But when she put on the puppy dog eyes, any attempt at resistance by Keiichi was doomed to fail most spectacularly.

Keiichi let his imagination go as he visualized that dress on one of such a heavenly visage as Belldandy. The sheer beauty of such thoughts almost overwhelmed him and caused him to go over all wobbly in the knees.

He recovered and asked "So Belldandy, why are you suddenly so interested in wedding dresses. Don't Gods and Goddesses have marriages and weddings in Heaven?

Belldandy said, "No, Keiichi. If a God and Goddess want to spend their lives together, they just have to declare their intentions to each other and the declaration is automatically registered through their connections with Yggdrasil. And they aren't required to say how long they will stay together. They can stay together for one day or a thousand years. Because Gods and Goddesses live such a long time, there's no point to saying that they will stay together until they die because we don't really die unless killed in battle."

Keiichi said, "If you want to have an idea of what a marriage is like, look at what we're doing." He sat down at the table next to Bell. "We declared our love for each other in the presence of Kami-sama and your fellow goddesses as well as your sisters. We live together, we're making a home for each other and we promised to spend the rest of our lives together. So we're as close to being married as we can get without the wedding ceremony. In some ways, what we did in Heaven is like a wedding. The only thing is, that in the eyes of our friends and loved ones down here on Earth as well as the law of the land, we're just two people living together as boyfriend and girlfriend.

"For us to be married in Japan, we'd have to exchange vows in the presence of someone who is allowed to witness those vows as an official of the government. Then, we'd be considered married in the eyes of the government as well as our friends and family on Earth. If we were to tell them that we declared our love for each other in Heaven, they'd never believe us. Don't forget, Belldandy. To Megumi and the rest of our friends, you're a human, not a Goddess.

"Also Belldandy, the whole wedding ceremony can be a very big deal down here on Earth. People can spend a lot of money to put one of those things on, and there's guests to invite, and a hall to rent, and a photographer for the pictures, flowers, tuxedos for me and the groomsmen, and dresses for the bridesmaids and the purchase of wedding rings and...you just have to trust me on this one Bell. Weddings can be a big hassle. And we still haven't paid all of our bills yet. "

Belldandy looked at Keiichi for a few moments, and with her usually uncanny ability to get to the heart of a matter then said, "But they don't have to be, do they? A wedding ceremony can be just us and our friends and we can have it here at the Temple. We can get flowers from the temple garden, I can make any gown in this magazine as well as those tuxedo things. This doesn't have to cost us a lot of money or be a big bother at all. All we are doing is just what we did in Heaven, only on a smaller scale. What is different between what we are now, and really being married in the eyes of our friends and family?" Belldandy turned on the charm and the puppy dog eyes again and didn't say a word after that.

Keiichi stood there dumbfounded. He thought to himself, _"Damn, did Belldandy just railroad me into asking her to get married? Boy, is she good. But if you think about it, we're already pretty much acting like a young married couple. Although we did things in reverse in that we're living together before getting married. All we'd have to do is get a government official to witness the vows and complete the paperwork in a government office. And we can have a nice ceremony and reception at the temple. But what about the hassle of who to invite, and I also have to get her a wedding ring. That will cost a bunch.  
"But I do love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and she's definitely worth it. I wonder if this means that I'll have to meet her parents and get their blessing. Keima and Takano love Bell, they'll approve in a heartbeat."_

A bunch of questions and potential scenarios swirled around in his head and it was going to take some time to get on top of it all. But overall, he thought that with all that had been going on in their lives since he and Belldandy first met,.maybe marriage wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. It can't be any harder than some of the adventures they've had. Can it?

Keiichi said, "Well Belldandy, in order to do this, there are certain things that have to be done.

First of all, I have to propose to you."

Belldandy cocked her head again, and said "What does that mean?"

Keiichi replied, "To propose to someone means that they have to formally ask that person to marry them. It's usually done as a surprise in a romantic setting. The traditional way is that the man gets down on one knee before the woman and asks her to marry him. He then would present her with an engagement ring as a sign of their commitment to marry. In our case, you already have a ring that I presented you, that could act as an engagement ring.

Belldandy said dreamily, "That sounds so romantic, Keiichi. I can't wait until the day you propose to me. You will propose won't you?"

"Bell, you can't make a man propose to you when you want him to. He has to do it on his own at a time and place he feels appropriate."

"So, what comes after proposing?" Belldandy asked excitedly.

"Well, in most countries, the couple has to meet each others parents and ask for their approval. My parents aren't a problem, they love you and would approve in a minute. But being that you're a Goddess and I've never met your parents, I'm not sure how we'd deal with that situation. But assuming that your parents approve, then we can get started on the wedding preparations. The guest list, the clothes for the wedding party as well as the bride and groom. The format of the ceremony and so on."

Kei continued. "See, Belldandy, we put the cart before the horse..."

Bell interrupted, "What does a cart and a horse have to do with planning a wedding?"

Keiichi stifled a chuckle. In all the years Belldandy and her sisters had lived on Earth, they learned a lot about human customs, but they still had much to learn about some of the more quirkier sayings and colloquialisms. It always amused Keiichi when one of the goddesses didn't have a clue of what he was talking about when he used a phrase they weren't familiar with.

He said, "Belldandy, putting the cart before the horse means that we did some things out of sequence. Usually two people in love with each other as we are, don't move in and live together until they are married."

"Oh I see, so we should have been married before moving in with each other?"

"Yes, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Obviously, we could not have known how things were to unfold as we've gone through life with each other over the years. It's not a bad thing. What matters most is what we do for the future."

Belldandy stood up and put her arms around Keiichi. She looked into his eyes, caressed his cheek, and said, "Keiichi, the future means nothing if you're not there to share it with me. As long as we can face it together, the future will take care of itself." She then wrapped him up in a big hug and kissed him passionately.

**Chapter 2**

**1:40pm October 22nd**

Keiichi left the house and headed to the garage. His head was still swimming from all the craziness that had occurred since he and the other Goddesses had come back to the Temple after the whole Eye of Heaven affair. The events of their time in Heaven had put Belldandy in the mood for some serious alone time with Keiichi, so she kept him within the dimensional portal she had erected in his room for their more private moments for a full three days of continuous lovemaking. No doubt that Urd and Lind knew what the amorous couple were up to since they had not seen hide nor hair of Kei and Bell since they returned to the temple. And Urd certainly wasn't going to cook any food, so she ordered take out for three days straight and quite naturally, stuck Keiichi with the bill.

And considering that when Lind wasn't working out, she was eating in preparation for working out, so the amount of take out coming to the temple was enough to feed a small army.

And now Belldandy had gotten the idea into her pretty little head that they should get married.

Keiichi wasn't against the idea of marriage per se, but he had to figure out all the myriad details of planning a wedding, and the first thing on the list was how and when to propose to her. And before he could propose to his Goddess, he needed a source of income.

Which meant finding a job. And considering that the only marketable skill that Keiichi had was fixing motorcycles, that meant going over to Chihiro's shop and begging to have his old job back. He wasn't expecting Chihiro to have any mercy on him. He hadn't put in a full day's work in the shop in over six months, and surely she had already hired a new mechanic and shop assistant by then. But the other motorcycle shops in the city needed mechanics with a lot more experience than Keiichi, and at least he had a work history with Chihiro.

Keiichi hopped aboard his trusty BMW and thumbed the starter. The bike turned over and settled into it's familiar Boxer idle. He was about to put his helmet on when Belldandy came out to the garage.

She was wearing a blue button-down blouse under a white vest and a long white ankle length skirt. Her hair was done up in its usual ponytail, held in place with a blue bow that matched the blouse. A clean, simple look that still let the Goddess's beauty show through.

"Where are you going, Keiichi?" she asked nicely.

"I'm heading over to Whirlwind. I have to talk to Chihiro and ask her to let me have my old job back. We're going to need some money to pay off these bills."

Belldandy said, "I don't think you'll have a problem getting your job back. Chihiro's a very nice person and she likes you." Bell smiled.

Keiichi said warily, "Just because Chihiro likes me doesn't mean she'll take it easy on me. You know how much of a handful she can be."

"But she's like that because she knows that you do good work. Do you want me to come with you?"

" It's not necessary, Belldandy. I can manage on my own."

"Okay, Keiichi. By the time, you get back, I'll have dinner ready. Hope you're hungry."

"I'm always hungry for your food, Bell."

Belldandy giggled and gave a small wave as Keiichi launched the bike and headed down to the street.

"So, has he proposed yet?"

"No, not yet." Bell said as she turned around to see her sister Urd standing behind her. As always, Urd was wearing something too short, too tight, and that showed off her most bountiful assets.

"Well he'd better, or I'll hit him with a thunderbolt every day until he does. I've been reading up on these wedding things. It seems they can be a lot of fun. Especially the night when the bridesmaids' take the bride out on one last night of freedom before the big day. Supposedly, a lot of sake gets drunk, and that sounds like my kind of party."

"I think that he'll propose soon. He told me that he has to do it on his own time and when he feels it's appropriate." Belldandy said as she looked out past the temple grounds towards Nekomi City. It was a pleasant fall day, the sun was shining, a mild breeze was blowing off the river towards the temple, and bright puffy clouds lazily floated by.

"Belldandy, if you're going to wait until he feels it's 'appropriate' to propose to you." Urd said, making air quotes with her hands, "You'll be waiting for a very long time. Look how long it took for him to finally say that he even loved you."

"True, but he couldn't have picked a better time or place to confess his feelings to me."

"I'll give him that. Keiichi doesn't always act like the most decisive man, but he certainly mustered up his courage that day. Heaven is still buzzing about that hearing."

"It truly was a glorious day. One that I will always remember."

"Well, our boy better get a move on, proposing to you. Would you like me to, um, 'provide a little medicinal assistance in the courage department?' " Urd said slyly.

"No, Urd. Keiichi will do it when he's good and ready, and I will be there to say 'yes.' " said Belldandy.

"Well, on you own head be it, Belldandy. We're not getting any younger, you know." Urd chuckled as she headed back to the temple.

Bell turned to see her sister off, and then turned back to watching the city unfold before her. In her mind, things were coming together beautifully. She was no longer burdened by the secret that had haunted her since Keiichi stood for the first class exam. The adventure with the Eye of Heaven was a success. She, Keiichi and the others had saved Yggdrasil from a calamity that could have spelled doom for Heaven and the universe. She and Keiichi had never been closer or more in love, and now, she was ready to take on the next great challenge in her life as a Goddess...marriage.

**1:55pm **

Keiichi pulled into the parking lot that housed the tiny shop that Chihiro called "Whirlwind." It was Chihiro that had given Keiichi a chance to fulfill his life long dream of building his own motorcycles. And for a while, he relished the opportunity. He worked hard, never turning up his nose at a job too small or too easy. Chihiro was pleased with his work.

But, as a result of him becoming a God, the battle with Hild and Marller that lead to Belldandy being severely injured, and then standing for the First Class exam and all the time spent in Heaven dealing with the Eye of Heaven business, he hadn't been to work in months.

He had some money saved up, and luckily, Belldandy was also very thrifty with her savings, and that tied the couple over for a while until they went to Heaven. But, now that they were back and all the utilities in the temple were shut off due to non-payment of bills, Keiichi needed to get back to work.

He parked the Beemer next to Chihiro's Krauser, and climbed the steps to the door. He wondered how Chihiro would react seeing her prodigal mechanic for the first time in a half a year. He hoped she wouldn't be too hard on him.

He opened the door and took in the view. The shop hadn't changed very much since he was in last. Posters of motorcycles and motorcycle racers lined the walls, decals of parts manufacturers were slapped on any blank surface. Parts of all shapes and sizes were stored neatly along the walls leaving the middle of the floor open to make repairs. All in all, a very tidy place, that left no doubt to even the most casual visitor that serious business was done here.

And Chihiro was at the cash register with a deep frown on her face as she had her nose in the accounting ledger. From the look on her face, business wasn't looking very good lately. Keiichi thought to himself, '_This may not be a good time to bother her.' _ He was ready to slip out before Chihiro looked up and straight at him.

"As I live and breathe, it's a ghost!" She said in mock fright. She leaped from behind the register and stood eye to eye with Keiichi. "It looks like a certain mechanic I used to employ here. What was his name again? Ah, yeah! Keiichi! Keiichi Morisato! Wonder whatever happened to him?"

She waved her arm in front of Keiichi's face as if trying to make it pass through him. But she only succeeded in lightly slapping Keiichi on the cheek. "For a ghost, he seems very lifelike, my hand doesn't even pass through him." She grabbed two mufflers off a nearby stand and crossed them menacingly in front of Keiichi's nose. "State your business and depart from me, foul spirit!" Chihiro shouted as she shook the muffler cross vigorously in front of Keiichi as if she was trying to ward him off.

For a moment, Keiichi contemplated following his former boss's lead and playing along, but decided against it. "Chihiro, it's really me, Keiichi,"

"The spirit knows my name, but he can't really be Morisato."

"Yes, it's really me, Chihiro."

"Prove it, tell me something that only the real live Keiichi would know about me."

"Well, you've never shown it to anybody, but you have a tattoo of a butterfly on your..."

"All right, Keiichi! Shut up! I believe you!", Chihiro roared with indignation.

"Told you."

"How do you know about my butterfly tattoo?"

"You were wearing a bikini during the last Motor Club retreat. As I recall, the butterfly was on the left..." Keiichi said drily.

"Shut up, Keiichi!"

"Okay. By the way, you looked pretty good in that two piece, almost as nice as Belldandy."

Chihiro blushed a deep red. "You really think so?"

Keiichi said "Yeah, I do."

"Hmm, seems that all that time with Belldandy has made you a lot bolder. Normally, the mere mention of me in a bikini, much less my tattoo, would have caused you to sputter and blubber like an idiot."

"You could say that Belldandy has finally made a man out of me." Keiichi said with confidence.

Chihiro composed herself quickly and said, "So, Morisato. What brings you here? Obviously, not to reminisce about me in a bikini, as delightful as that may seem."

"Simple, Chihiro. I need my old job back. I can start tomorrow, if you want, even at my old salary."

Chihiro eyed Keiichi suspiciously. "Why should I hire you back? Last time, you took off, and didn't even give me notice. Other than that one night when you came back for whatever it was Belldandy left here for you, I haven't seen nor heard from you since. I have some very important events coming up where I'm gonna need a top mechanic that I can count on, and I can't have him skipping out on me when I least expect it." Chihiro pointed her index finger at Keiichi. "How do I know I can count on you. Where were you for the past six months?"

Keiichi didn't like lying, but he certainly couldn't tell Chihiro that he was made a God, had to engage in a magical battle against his sworn enemy, and then go to Heaven to save the universe from a corrupted celestial computer that had gone haywire with a demonic virus. So he came up with an excuse that was only slightly more believable.

"Belldandy and I took a very long vacation."

"Where?"

"The United States."

"The United States?"

"Yeah, the United States."

"Where, in the United States?"

That brought Keiichi up short, of course, he had never been outside of Japan, much less to the US.

"San Francisco." he said hurriedly, picking a city at random.

"What's in San Francisco?"

"Belldandy's parents."

"Hmm, Belldandy's parents, huh?"

"Yep."

"Keiichi, at any given time you barely have enough money to get to Tokyo, how did you manage to spring for a vacation to the US?" Chihiro queried.

"Bell's parents took care of it."

"So does this mean..."

"It could be..."

"Have you picked a date yet?"

"I haven't even proposed to her."

"Well then. What the hell are you waiting for, you moron!"

"The right time. And I need money to pay for the wedding."

Chihiro erupted in a torrent of laughter. "Belldandy will be old and gray by the time YOU get around to proposing to her. You don't have the guts! Tell you what. If you promise me that you'll propose to Belldandy, I give you your job back. Deal?" She held her hand out.

Keiichi shook on it. "Deal!"

Chihiro continued, "But there's one other thing. You haven't touched a wrench in over six months. I have to see whether you can still pull your weight in this shop. Follow me."

Keiichi followed Chihiro around to the back of the shop where she had a large pile of something unknown under a blue tarp. She whipped off the cover, and there were three Suzuki GSX-R 750 motorcycles in various states of dis-assembly. Keiichi almost salivated when he saw the bikes. The GSX-R was one of his favorite Japanese bikes, but he never had the money to think about buying one.

Chihiro pointed to the bikes and said, "A friend of mine sold these bikes to me for a steal. But I've been so busy lately, that I haven't had time to work on them. What I want you to do is, choose one of these bikes, and use the parts from the other two to make it run. You have until closing time, which is at 8pm. It's now 2:00. If you can get one of these bikes to run with parts from the other two, and ride it to the corner and back, then you're rehired, and I'll throw in a 5000 yen bonus per pay period. That's a very generous offer. Take it or leave it."

Keiichi was never one to back down from a challenge. "I'll take it."

"I knew you couldn't refuse." Chihiro said with a grin. She held up a stopwatch. " I'll leave you alone. I have to figure out my books. The clock starts...NOW!" She winked at Kei and went back into the shop.

Keiichi immediately closed his eyes and let his third eye open. Through it, he could sense the vibrations and energies given off by the various parts and the bikes as a whole. In a matter of seconds, he could tell which bike was the best candidate to build. Running his hands over the parts of the sacrificial bikes, he could tell which parts were the healthiest and the least used. He grabbed his tool kit and set off to work. He let his God abilities combine with his natural aptitude for fixing mechanical devices take over and he worked with inhuman speed and accuracy. Inside of an half hour, he had determined the best engine of the three, disconnected it, and had it on the ground, ready to transplant.

Keiichi pulled the heads, examined the pistons, connecting rods and crankshaft and replaced the bad ones with the best ones from the parts bikes. He also replaced the worn cam shafts and cams as well as the timing chain and gears. The valves from the build bike as well as the transmission were already in good shape, so he left them alone. He then buttoned up the engine, and reattached it, threading the freshest chain through the best sprockets. He then turned to the wheels and suspensions.

He worked quickly and methodically, trusting his third eye completely to tell him which parts were still usable. It was as if his hands had a mind of their own and knew exactly what to do. He let himself get lost in the joy of doing what he loved to do best. Alone, he was working as fast as three expert mechanics. He didn't even bother to look at the clock, He didn't even care whether he got the build done on time. His mind was consumed with getting it done right.

Next to Belldandy, this is what Keiichi loved most. Getting his hands dirty, occupying his mind. The smells of oil, metal, rubber and gasoline. Feeling the parts in his hands and marveling at the technology and care that went into crafting such intricate parts that were subjected to such powerful forces as the controlled explosions of a combustion chamber, the meshing of the teeth of precision-cut gears at thousands of rpms. The flexing of springs under relentless pressure.

Hydraulics, pneumatics, all of it fascinated Keiichi and spoke to him in a way that only he could understand. Keiichi could always look at a part and see with his trained eye whether a part was still usable or not, but with his new God powers and abilities, the experience was even more personal. It was as if he could actually communicate with the parts, as if they had a mind and a voice of their own. They could tell him what was wrong with them and how to fix them.

Keiichi finally bolted the last part onto the build bike. He added oil and gas. It still needed a new paint and wax job, but it was clean and looked nice. He stepped back and gave the bike a last once over, and it suddenly came over him that he had accomplished by himself a project that a team of expert mechanics would have taken at least half a day to complete. He looked at his watch. It took him only a shade over three hours. Keiichi was sure that Chihiro would highly approve, but he had to make sure it ran first.

Keiichi slid the key into the ignition switch and thumbed the starter. The bike chuffed and spat, and then roared to life settling into a smooth and confident idle. The sound of the GSX-R firing up brought Chihiro out of the shop. She stared in utter disbelief at the completed bike.  
At first, she couldn't believe that Keiichi pulled off such an ambitious build. She knew that she could barely pull off such a difficult project within the time allotted, even with her best pit crew from her racing days. She merely wanted to test Keiichi's resolve, she wasn't actually expecting him to **complete **the project. And she would have hired Keiichi back any ways because she was strapped for a decent mechanic at crunch time. But of course, Chihiro would never tell Keiichi that.

"I'll be damned, Keiichi. You actually did it. But is it ride-able?"

Keiichi said confidently, "Grab your helmet and take it for a spin."

Chihiro said, "That's a pretty cocky attitude. You better hope your bite is as big as your bark." She put on the helmet, mounted the bike, and checked the settings. "All the instruments work, lights check, brakes feel solid, nice clutch pull." She then twisted the throttle and wound the engine up to 10,000 rpm. It spun up effortlessly and sounded like it was full of power waiting to be unleashed. She walked the bike into the street, pulled in the clutch, hit the gas and launched the bike. The engine pulled like a freight train from idle to redline,

Chihiro expertly pulled a 100 foot long wheelie as the bike's massive rear wheel clawed for traction on the asphalt. She tore off down the street and headed to the local racetrack. Putting the bike through a few hot laps, she marveled at how the bike handled. It stayed planted on the best racing line through even the trickiest off-camber turns, and tracked as straight as a laser on the straightaways. The suspension was responsive to even the slightest shifts in weight, the transmission clicked through the gears like a fine Swiss watch, and the robust brakes hauled the bike down from triple-digit speeds with only two fingers needed on the lever. In her expert hands, the big Suzuki performed with the grace and precision of a top-flight prima ballerina.

Under her helmet, Chihiro had a smile on her face as wide as the Grand Canyon. Only her best racing bikes could have exceeded the performance of this build. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn that this bike was fresh from the factory.

When Chihiro returned back to the shop, she roared into the parking lot, executed a perfect donut and dismounted. She walked up to Keiichi, handed him her helmet and nonchalantly said, "Not bad, see you at 8 am tomorrow." But Keiichi could tell that despite her unflappable facade, she could not completely wipe that smile off her face. He could easily tell even without using his God powers that the GSX-R he built was one of the best bikes she had ever ridden. He followed Chihiro back into the shop and said, "Thanks boss, I won't let you down this time."

"You better not. I don't know if I can find a better mechanic this close to this major event coming up."

"So what happened to the last mechanic you had?"

"You mean 'mechanics'."

" Mechanics?"

"Yeah, they came as a matched set, If I wanted one, I had to hire the other."

"You don't mean...?" Keiichi laughed.

"Yep, Tamiya and Ootaki."

This time it was Keiichi who's turn it was to bust out laughing. "You hired those two?"

"I had no choice. When you went off to parts unknown and took Belldandy with you, I was desperate, so I hired Tamiya and Ootaki. They were okay workers. After all, I trained them myself, but they left the shop in such a mess half the time, that I had to let them go after a couple months. And they had no customer service skills whatsoever. They scared off more business than I could bring in. You do know that they finally graduated, right?"

Keiichi said, "I knew they were taking graduate courses to hang around the Motor Club and to torture Hasegawa., the poor girl."

"Well, the faculty got so tired of their games, that they voted to give them, get this, Master's degrees in Auto Mechanics."

Keiichi retorted, "Nekomi Tech doesn't give Master's degrees in Auto Mechanics."

Chihiro shot back, "They do now. They made a special exception just to get those two clowns off campus once and for all. Especially after the last stunt they pulled."

"What happened?"

"Well, Tamiya overheard the President of the school complain that his car wasn't running right, so he and Ootaki convinced him that they could fix it and gave him a really good deal."

"I don't like where this is going."

"They fixed it all right, they made it into a drift racer."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me, they tuned the engine up to 550 hp, installed a full drift package with tires, brakes, and suspension and pimped out the sound system. And the paint job...the President was NOT pleased.

He wanted to expel them from the campus straight out, but Tamiya and Ootaki had a very unlikely advocate intervene on their behalf."

"Hasegawa?"

"Got it in one. She begged the President to reconsider, and probably because he had heard about all the crap that they put her through over the years, he took pity on her and directed the faculty to issue Tamiya and Ootaki Master's degrees, provided they leave the campus and never come back again."

"So where are they now?"

"Who knows and who cares, as long as they aren't here. I'm guessing Sora's pretty happy not having to deal with those two anymore."

Keiichi remembered some of the hassles that Tamiya and Ootaki put Hasegawa through, his heart went out to the beleaguered club director. He had been in her shoes at one time, and knew first hand how awful the two crazies could be. "Hopefully, with those nutjobs out of the way, she'll be able to recruit some new members into the club." he said. "Well, I've been here long enough, and 8 am comes pretty quickly. I better get home soon so Bell won't start worrying. Thanks again, Chihiro."

"No problem, Morisato. Tell Belldandy that she has a job waiting for her here too if she wants it. I've sold more stuff with her behind the register than anytime the shop's been open."

"Will do."

Keiichi hopped back aboard the BMW, and rode back to the temple, happy that one more obstacle had been cleared from his path. He had his old job back, with a raise to boot. And Belldandy could also come back to work alongside him. Things were definitely starting to look up.

**Chapter 3**

**6:00pm October 22**

Keiichi pulled into the temple garage and put the bike away. He could smell the food long before he entered the temple. He thought to himself, _"Wow, Belldandy really outdid herself tonight." _Which had to be very hard to do because Bell was such a wonderful cook that she kept raising the bar with every dish she made. Keiichi couldn't possibly conceive of how she could continually outdo herself, but she always did.

Belldandy greeted him at the front door with a kiss. "Welcome home, Keiichi. How did you fare with Chihiro?"

"Much better than I expected. Not only did I get my old job back, I got a 5000 yen raise."

Belldandy clasped her hands with joy as her face lit up. "That's wonderful, Keiichi!"

"It gets even better. Chihiro said that if you want to come back to work at the shop with me, you're more than welcome."

Bell became giddy with delight as she hopped up and down. "I'm so happy that everything worked out so well for you, Keiichi."

Keiichi held Belldandy and looked into her deep ocean blue eyes. "Belldandy, you mean that you're happy that everything worked out for us. I don't want any happiness unless I can share it with you."

Belldandy pulled Keiichi to her and hugged him tight. "Right, Keiichi. There is no 'you' or 'me', there is only 'us.'"

Keiichi allowed himself to be embraced by his Goddess's warmth and power. He could feel her boundless energy flowing through her and into him. Their hearts, as usual, were beating in perfect unison. The two lovers held each other for a few more moments, and then released, looking into each others eyes, sending each other a message meant for no one other than them.

Bell said, "Well, Keiichi. Come to the table. Dinner's ready."

He followed her into the Tea Room and was slack-jawed at the spread laid out before him. Yellowfin tuna, Toro, Salmon, Shrimp, and Hamachi prepared to perfection in numerous ways. Broiled, fried in tempura, served cold as sushi, poached. Stir fried beef so tender and flavorful that it could have been confused with Kobe or Wagyu beef. Rice cooked to its absolute tenderness. Miso soup, exquisite and delicate in its flavor. Pickled vegetables. Tofu. And a light and airy chocolate mousse cake for dessert. So many different kinds of food. It must have taken her hours to prepare.

"Belldandy, this is incredible. But I don't know if I can eat all of this."

Bell said, "I admit that I did get a little carried away. But I somehow figured that you were going to do well with Chihiro, so I wanted to make a nice meal to celebrate in advance. Besides, you don't have to eat it all. Remember who's also staying with us."

As if on cue, Lind walked into the Tea Room and plopped down at the table. She was still dressed in her workout gear, a white tank top cut off at the midriff and white tights. She laid her six foot long Class 15 battle axe on the floor at her side, and nodded at Keiichi.

"Keiichi." Lind said in her usual no-nonsense clipped tone. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing well, Lind. How about you? Are you enjoying your vacation so far?"

"Everything is fine. You have extended to me the best hospitality, and have made me feel welcome. And I appreciate that."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like. We have plenty of room."

"I appreciate the offer, but I will only be here for a couple more weeks. I do eventually have to get back to work. Although the longer I stay down here, the harder it will be to say good-bye."

Belldandy said, "Lind, if you feel like leaving, I hope that it isn't because we think you're being a burden. Not at all. We enjoy having an extra person to talk to."

"No, Belldandy. You and Keiichi have been the perfect hosts. You've let me see what life is like for a human on this Earth. I was able to eat some great food, go on an unforgettable adventure, and you were gracious enough to let me borrow Keiichi for a date. Plus, I was able to get in some really good workouts. But I am a Valkyrie, and my first duty is protecting Heaven."

Keiichi broke in. "Lind, other than our date and our business with the Eye, you haven't left the temple at all. All you've done since you've been here is work out. Isn't there something else you'd like to do in the time you have left until you leave? Belldandy and I can make time to take you on a nice outing or something."

Lind thought about it for a few minutes, and then said, "I can't think of anything right now, but if something comes to mind, I'll let you know." She then filled her plate with food and started eating.

With that settled, Keiichi told Belldandy about his day with Chihiro. Bell listened in rapt attention as she did regarding anything that Keiichi had to say. However, she showed some concern when Keiichi recounted the part of the story about Tamiya and Ootaki losing their job at Whirlwind and "graduating" from Nekomi Tech.

"I do hope that Tamiya and Ootaki will find good jobs. It pains me to see them out of work."

Keiichi responded, "I wouldn't worry about those two. They've been scrounging jobs for years. If there's a part-time job to be done, those two are already doing it."

Belldandy reluctantly said, "Well, okay. But we should do something to help them out. We can throw a party for them to lift their spirits."

No sooner had Bell gotten those words out of her mouth, than Keiichi had shouted a little too loudly, "No, Belldandy! No party for those two! You remember what happened the last time the Motor Club had their meeting here. Ootaki and Tamiya went crazy, got drunk and caused all sorts of problems. You had to knock them out with a sleep spell because they had tried to force Hasegawa to do something she didn't want to do. No party!"

"But, Keiichi!" Bell pleaded.

"No, Bell." Keiichi put his foot down. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. And I ask your forgiveness. But please, respect my wishes. No party for Tamiya and Ootaki."

Belldandy flinched at Keiichi's angry retort. He had never spoken to her in that tone before. "I'm sorry, Keiichi. I was just thinking of Ootaki and Tamiya, and how we can help them."

Keiichi immediately felt like he was two inches tall and the biggest heel in the world. "I understand how you feel, Belldandy. As a Goddess, you are trained to always care for those people you meet and care about..."

"No, Keiichi. It's not in my training. It's the way I am and the way I was born to be, and it makes no difference whether I'm a field Goddess or a Valkyrie, or a System Administrator. I cannot help but love and care for the special people in my life. And Tamiya and Ootaki are special people to me. I can't just refuse to help them, if they are down."

Keiichi said quietly, "I'm sorry, Belldandy. I just have a lot on my mind right now, and the last thing I want to deal with is those two lummoxes running roughshod all over this temple again. Once things settle down and we can get caught up on the bills, then we can have a small party for them."

Belldandy said, "Okay, Keiichi. I can live with that."

Keiichi looked at his Goddess and said, "Did we just have our first argument?"

She smiled, "I would say that we had a difference of opinion, not an argument. Although I wasn't used to you raising your voice to me like that. You've never done that before."

Keiichi took Belldandy's hand. "I'm sorry, Bell. I just got a little carried away. I never meant to yell at you. It's just all the changes that have occurred since becoming a God have put me a little on edge. Our life together has taken some bizarre turns in the last few months. "

Belldandy continued to hold Keiichi's hand. "Not just the last few months, Keiichi. The four years we've been together have turned our lives upside down in so many ways. We have both learned so much about each other. You have taught me so many beautiful things. We have seen so many wonders and have gone so many places. My life with you has been a true joy. One that I never want to give up."

"Belldandy, would you stand up, please?"

She did as Keiichi asked, while he still sat at the table. He turned and faced his Goddess.

"Belldandy, you are what I have been searching for all my life. Someone whom I could love and care for. Someone who I could spend the rest of my life cherishing. Someone who gives my life meaning." He rose to one knee, looking up at his beautiful Goddess. "And now, Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited License, Belldandy. Will you marry me?"

Belldandy needed no time to think about it. She simply said, "Yes..."


	2. Part 2

**Chapter 4**

**6:30pm, October 22**

She said "Yes." That's all she said. That's all she needed to say. One little word that meant so much. One little word that changed everything.

Keiichi stood up and produced a small box from his pocket. "I picked this up after leaving Chihiro's. I wasn't expecting to give you this until later, but then again, I didn't plan on proposing to you just now. But it seemed like the right time to do this. Although this isn't what I would call a romantic setting" Keiichi said as he pointed to the table full of food and Lind chowing down, oblivious to what had just happened.

He flipped open the box and presented it to Belldandy. As she gazed upon the contents, tears formed in her eyes. Her voice quivered as she was overcome with joy at what Keiichi had just asked her to do and what he had presented to her. That small token, that symbol. A bit of metal, a jewel, had said so much more than words could ever say.

"I-it's beautiful, Keiichi, please put it on." The Goddess gasped.

"My pleasure, Belldandy."

Bell turned around and moved her ponytail out of the way as Keiichi slid the necklace around her neck. He turned her around and gazed into her face as he straightened out the golden heart with the tiny diamond mounted within. The tears still flowing, as Belldandy's countenance was flushed "You already had the ring that I gave you before, so it didn't make sense to get you another one for our engagement. So I took some the savings I had left, and bought you this necklace. It'll have to do as your engagement present until we get the wedding rings."

Belldandy looked down at the simple necklace, at how the light caught the facets of the diamond and shimmered off the 18 karat gold setting. "It's perfect, Keiichi. Just like you." She rushed into his arms and held him. "So practical, Keiichi." Her voice cracked as she let the moment wash over her like a waterfall. Keiichi never failed to surprise Belldandy and always knew how to make her smile.

She released him, and said, "We have to tell everybody. We have to set a date. There is so much that has to be done. And I can't wait to get started." Bell ran off to break the news to Urd.

Keiichi looked down at the table. For a moment, he wondered whether he really understood what he had just done. Did he really propose to Belldandy? And did she really say "Yes?" And was he really ready to take such a monumental step forward in his life? The questions swirled around in his head.

But Keiichi Morisato was never one to back down from a test. When people told him he couldn't do something, that just made him work all that much harder to prove them wrong. And it would be the same with this new challenge. Belldandy was about to become his wife. And he swore to himself that he would be the best husband he could be for her. That gave him new resolve and chased the apprehension away.

He was committed to Belldandy and would see it through to the end. However long it took.

Belldandy was sitting in Urd's room still excited that Keiichi had proposed to her. Urd, being Urd reacted as only she would. "Couldn't he have picked a better place to propose?" She snorted with disdain. "Like a romantic boat ride on the river, or in a fancy restaurant? He had to pop the question in that dreadful little Tea Room in this dingy temple while Lind, of all people, was right there pigging out? I should whack him with a thunderbolt for being so clueless."

Urd violently shook her head as she pointed to the necklace. "And he didn't even buy you another ring. He weaseled out by giving you that cheap necklace. Honestly, Belldandy. I don't understand why you accepted his tacky, crass proposal. I would be insulted beyond belief. If I were you, I'd make him do it again in a proper romantic setting. And with a damn ring!"

Genuine anger flared across Urd's face. "That's it! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. If you won't set Keiichi straight, then I will. No one takes the easy way out on my sister." Urd stood up and was ready to leave before Belldandy stopped her.

She said, blocking her older sister's path of rage. "Urd, Please restrain yourself. I don't care about where or how he proposed to me. All I care about was the sincerity of his heart. I could feel that he really meant it when he said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. That kind of feeling can't be faked. I know his heart, and I know his feelings. And they were real."

"I'm still not impressed, Belldandy." Urd said as her anger dissipated. "But you're the one marrying him, and as long as he makes you happy. I guess it's all right with me. Has he told his parents yet?"

"No, he's supposed to call them later today."

"Those two are an odd couple. Keiichi takes right after his father, and Megumi is just like her mother. Hopefully, Keima won't freak out with all the women who'll be in the wedding party. You know how he gets."

"I think he'll be all right."

"Keima likes you. You're the only woman other than Megumi and Takano, he'll let stand close to him. Imagine how he'll react with me, Skuld, Chihiro, Hasegawa...hey, are we inviting Sayoko?"

"It would be rude not to send her an invitation."

"But, all the crap she put you and Keiichi through. I don't think we should."

"Urd," Belldandy said, "Deep down I really think that Sayoko is not a bad person. I just think that she doesn't have any good friends that care about her. Everybody likes hanging around her because she has a lot of money. But a truly good friend shouldn't care about how much money you have, or if you have any at all. Look at Keiichi. He's always short of money, and he has lots of good friends."

Urd laughed at Bell's words. "Belldandy, you call Tamiya and Ootaki good friends? The only reason they let him hang around is because he lets them push all their stupid money-making stunts onto him. Aoshima can't stand Keiichi because the Motor Club always shows up his Four Wheels Club. The only people who really care about Keiichi as he is, are us Goddesses, Megumi, Chihiro, and Hasegawa." Urd paused thoughtfully. "You know, for a guy who doesn't have a romantic bone in his body, he sure has a lot of women hanging around him."

"See, Urd? Keiichi does have a lot of good friends. He has us."

"Bell, he has you. Skuld and I came along for the ride, and I doubt that our little sister will ever completely warm up to Keiichi." Both Goddesses laughed.

"So, Urd. What do you think?"

"I don't think that you could do better than Keiichi. You two belong together. You complement each other. Besides, you've been living together for four years. How much different is marriage than what you're doing now?"

Meanwhile, Keiichi was on the phone with his little sister, Megumi.

"Hey, Meg. What's up?"

As Keiichi might have expected, Megumi was quite upset. "Keiichi!, Where the hell were you the last six months? Everyone has been worried sick about you! We called the police and reported you and Belldandy missing. Mom and Dad were climbing the walls. We all thought that something bad had happened. Thank God you're okay. Whatever excuse you have better be a damn good one, so spill it, Mister!"

Keiichi told Megumi the same cover story he used on Chihiro.

Megumi yelled, "They don't have telephones in San Francisco? They don't have mail service? Or is it that you don't know how to use these things. C'mon, Keiichi, you have to do much better than that."

"Megumi, we went there for a long vacation, and to meet Belldandy's parents. We got caught up in the sights and sounds of San Francisco, and we didn't want anyone to know where we were."

"Dammit, Kei! Next time, tell someone when you and Belldandy run off like that...wait a minute, you said you went to meet Bell's parents?"

"That's what I said."

"How **are** things with you and Belldandy? Have you two at least kissed, since I last saw you?"

"We're a little further along than that, Megumi. I proposed to her."

"Proposed as in..."

"Yup, Belldandy and I are getting married." Keiichi said confidently.

Silence.

"Megumi?..Megumi! Earth to Megumi Morisato!"

Megumi came back on the line, the shock on her voice palpable even through the phone line.

"You two are getting...m-m-married?"

"Yes we are, Belldandy's gonna be your sister-in-law."

"I don't believe it. You two are barely at the hand-holding stage, and now you're getting hitched."

Keiichi didn't have the heart to tell his sister that he and Belldandy were well beyond holding hands and kissing and were engaging in rather passionate extracurricular activities on a fairly regular basis.

He was perfectly willing to let Meg continue believing that they living a chaste, sexually bereft lifestyle as a boyfriend and girlfriend who loved each other, but were too afraid to go any further than that.

"Believe it or not, Megumi. It is true, we are getting married."

"Have you told Keima and Takano yet?" Disbelief still lingering in Megumi's voice.

"I'm calling them after I get off the phone with you."

"This is gonna blow their minds. They were surprised that you were living with a girl. Not to mention one as perfect as Bell."

"Oh yeah. I seemed to have gotten lucky."

"But they seem to like Belldandy. So maybe it'll be all right with them. But be prepared for a major butt-chewing, they're not happy that you ran off and didn't tell anyone."

Changing the subject, Keiichi said. "I heard that new boyfriend of yours is a pretty good cook."

"Hiro? He works in a three star restaurant Downtown. He's a very good cook. Why do you think I haven't been mooching meals around the temple lately?"

"Do you think that we can borrow him to cook the wedding dinner and bake the cake?" Keiichi inquired.

"I'll ask him, but I'm pretty sure he'll accept. That is if we can keep Belldandy out of the kitchen on her wedding day. You know she's gonna want to do all the cooking."

"You're right. Belldandy does love to cook."

"What kind of wedding are you two having?" asked Megumi.

"I don't know, I just proposed to her a few minutes ago."

Keiichi continued, "We're probably going to have it here in the temple. We'll keep it simple and inexpensive, not too many guests. Same with the reception."

"Are you having a traditional Japanese or a Western style wedding?"

"Dunno, I'll have to discuss it with Belldandy. She was looking at a bridal magazine with a bunch of wedding gowns in it earlier today. She might be leaning towards Western."

"Ooooh, that's gonna be expensive." Megumi chuckled. "Her gown alone will cost a bunch."

"The kimono for a Japanese wedding won't be much cheaper."

"True. What about the clothes for the bridesmaids and the groomsmen?"

"Damn! I hadn't thought about that. And then there's the photographer, and the flowers, and...you know, maybe we're better off just eloping." Keiichi said, half in jest.

"Right, Keiichi. Megumi warned. "You'll have everyone in the family and at the temple pissed off at you, including me. I've never been part of a wedding before, much less my big brother's. And I'm not missing it for the world."

"So you'll help us get the preparations done?"

Megumi hesitated, "I'll try, but my time is limited."

"I'll hold you to that. I gotta get going and break the news to the parents."

Keiichi rang off. He thought that this whole wedding business could be just him and his Goddess, in the temple, surrounded by his closest friends. But then reality set in, and he realized that it was going to cost a lot more to pull this off than he had saved up. Belldandy wouldn't care whether her wedding was a massively formal affair with hundreds of guests and a six foot tall wedding cake, or just a simple gathering, or even just him and her. After all, all she cared about was having Keiichi by her side.

But it wouldn't be right in his mind to just run off, have his vows witnessed by a government official, and have done with it. This was going to be a one-time occasion. So he wanted to do it up right. Belldandy knew the depths of his love for her when Keiichi confessed his feelings in Heaven before Kami-sama and every Goddess there. But down here on Earth, there were still those who wondered why he had been so slow to show them how much he loved his Goddess. To them, they were still the reluctant boyfriend and girlfriend, scared to death of showing their true feelings. Megumi still thought that they had never kissed. Still in the 'elementary school' phase of their relationship.

If Meg could see what Keiichi and Belldandy were doing in their private love nest on a regular basis, she'd deem that the couple were well beyond the college level in terms of the physical intensity of their relationship. Not to mention, she'd probably blush at some of the hi-jinks they would get up to.

Kei and Bell were still making love at least once a week. And their fire hadn't cooled in the least since that first night. Belldandy was still insatiable and she gave as good as she got. She was still a screamer **and **a moaner. But she learned to be more accommodating in giving Keiichi a break after some of their more frenetic activities. And Kei had become much better in meeting his Goddess's needs in that area.

Keiichi called his parents, and as Megumi predicted, Keima read his son the riot act for at least a good five minutes before Keiichi could get a word in edgewise. And no sooner had Keima had his say, then Takano took the phone and picked up where her husband left off, and then some.

All told, it was about ten minutes before the exasperated parents finally let their son speak. Keiichi calmly repeated his alibi, making sure that he answered every question as completely as possible. He had all his bases covered. He explained why he had to go to San Francisco, and he also fabricated a believable profile of Belldandy's parents in spite of the fact that he had never met them, much less seen them at any time in the few times he had been in Heaven.

But parents have an innate ability to know when their progeny are lying, and the Morisatos were no exception. Keima and Takano had found the one hole in Keiichi's tissue of lies. They would only give their blessing if they met Belldandy's parents. Keiichi had no answer for that one and to save face, he quickly told Keima and Takano that he would call them back when he could get in touch with Bell's parents to arrange a meeting. After hanging up the phone, Keiichi was sweating bullets. How was he going to get himself out of this jam?

**Chapter 4**

**A Conference Room in the Palace of Heaven.**

"Do you think that he is the one whom we can count on to head this?"

"If not him, who else? He has proven his worth and his dedication multiple times. And there is no one else like him."

"This plan is very dangerous. Hild will be extremely upset."

"I don't really care about what Hild thinks right now. We'll deal with her when the time comes."

"I do hope you know what you're doing?"

"That's a rather rude thing to say to me."

"I beg your forgiveness for my words. But a plan of this magnitude would have anyone with a sound mind questioning the sanity of even one such as you."

"Apology accepted, and I only forgive you because you are one of my most trusted advisers. I have to admit that this is a very audacious venture, and if I were you, I'd also question the mindset of the one who would propose such a plan. Even if they were the Almighty. But I have been thinking about this for a very long time. And I feel that now is the best time to do this, especially with the catalyst of our plan right at our fingertips."

"Heaven can use a little fresh blood, some new thinking. Maybe this could work after all."

"Quite. When all is ready, let me know, and I'll make the first contact."

**8:00pm, October 22.**

**Keiichi's Room.**

After all the excitement of the day, Keiichi decided to relax for a few moments in his room before turning in. He wanted to get a good night's rest and be ready for his first day back at work. But he wasn't drowsy enough to fall asleep, so before heading off to his room, he snagged one of Skuld's manga books she always kept lying around. He started reading it, when Belldandy walked in. She was already dressed in her pajamas and was heading towards the Tea Room to turn in, but decided to check in on Keiichi before going to bed.

"Keiichi, what are you reading?" Bell asked sweetly, as she bent over to look him in the face.

"One of Skuld's mangas." Keiichi laughed. "It's about this guy who's a real loser with women, and one night, a Goddess appears to him from a mirror and gives him a wish. I know, it sounds kinda sappy, doesn't it? Pretty lame. I don't think it'll sell very well."

Bell smiled and said, " I don't know. The idea sounds very cute to me. I'd like to read it one day." She inspected the cover of the manga and said, "Hmm. Kosuke Fujishima. He sounds familiar."

"Yeah, he did a manga about a couple of crazy policewomen. That was one of his better works. I don't think this one's nearly as good." He tossed the book aside and said, "Is everything okay, Belldandy?"

She said. "All is well, Keiichi. How did your parents take the news of our engagement."

"They have no problem with it, however, **we** might have a problem."

Belldandy sat down cross-legged next to Keiichi, and with a look of concern, asked. "What kind of problem?"

Keiichi held his head in his hands and rubbed his cheeks, then said, " They'll give us their blessing, but only if they can meet your parents. I've never met your parents. How would I know if they'd approve of me?"

Fidgeting slightly as she posted a nervous smile, Belldandy said, "I'm sure that my parents will have no problem with you at all."

Keiichi queried, "Is Kami-sama...?"

Belldandy quickly replied, shaking her head. "Oh, no, he's not my father. You know that Skuld, Urd and I share the same father, but have different mothers. But Kami-sama is no relation to me."

"Is there any chance I that I could meet them, so they can give me their blessing?"

"It's possible," Bell hesitated. "But they are always very busy. They are highly placed in the administration, and it might not be possible for them to come to the wedding due to their commitments."

"I've noticed that in all the years I've known you, you've never talked about them other than to explain how you and the other Goddesses are related."

Belldandy bowed her head and said quietly, "We're not that close, Keiichi. Our parents raised all three of us to be very independent of them. It's not that I don't love or respect them, but i-it's that we don't talk very often." She slowly turned her head away from Keiichi and said nothing further.

Keiichi could easily tell from Bell's actions that she wasn't comfortable talking about her parents. Something about them obviously caused her more than a little bother. And by the way she killed the conversation, nothing more about the subject was to be said.

Keiichi knew that it wasn't a good idea to make his Goddess reveal something she didn't want to. From her actions, she showed that she kept her feelings about her mother and father locked up tight, and she wasn't prepared to share them with anyone, even the man she loved more than life itself.

Keiichi took great pains to always allow Belldandy her space. So he dropped the subject. He could always fabricate another excuse to tell Keima and Takano as to why a meeting couldn't be arranged, but he was getting tired of having to build lie upon lie. Then again, he was of the age of majority, he didn't legally need his parent's permission to marry. But, it was considered rude not to at least ask for their blessing. Whether he chose to honor their wishes, yea or nay, was up to him. They might put up some protest, or maybe even not show up at the wedding, but they couldn't stop Kei from marrying Belldandy.

Bell interrupted Keiichi's train of thought, speaking just above a whisper. "Well, Keiichi, if there's nothing more that you need of me, I'm going to bed." Longingly, she said. "Is it possible, later this week, maybe we can...?" She stood and headed for the door.

"Of course, Belldandy." Keiichi gently answered. "I'll always make time for that. I'd indulge you tonight, but I want to be well rested for whatever Chihiro throws at me tomorrow." Keiichi also stood and gave his Goddess a sweet good night kiss. They held each other for a few precious moments, and Bell left.

A few minutes passed and Keiichi went to speak to Urd about the conversation he just had with Belldandy. He figured that she would be a little more up front about that which caused Belldandy such distress.

Urd was in her room watching some program or other on TV. And despite her standing order that she never be disturbed during TV time, she turned her attention to Keiichi when he mentioned the parents.

"The subject of our parents is one that we don't talk about very much, Keiichi." Urd said as she floated at head level before Keiichi. "You know my mother all too well. But we don't like to dwell on our father, or Belldandy and Skuld's mother too much. They're not bad deities, but they weren't the most affectionate parents. Very professional, very stern and very serious. They tolerated little funny business. They held us up to a high standard, even more so for Belldandy."

"Why, Urd?"

"Because of the three of us, Belldandy was supposed to be the shining star. Even though I was the oldest, I was always taught to try and emulate Belldandy. Of course, me being half demon, and the daughter of the Daimaikaicho herself insured that my rebellious side would always try to be the opposite of Bell. And Skuld was the exact opposite of me, she idolized Belldandy from birth."

Keiichi spoke up. "I remember when we were in Heaven, Lind told me that Belldandy was expected to take on a high position in Heaven, but she refused. Instead, she became a field Goddess in the GAA."

Urd said. "Lind was right. Belldandy was groomed from birth to ascend to the highest levels of Heavenly society. She had it all laying at her feet. She could have had any position short of Kami-sama himself. Her schooling, her magical powers, her singing, Heaven was her's for the taking, had she wanted it. Every aspect of her preparation was meant for that purpose. But she didn't want it. She just wanted to grant wishes and make people happy."

"But I don't see what all that has to do with her parents." Keiichi said. "I'm confused."

Urd said. "And that's the part Lind didn't tell you. Our parents were very disappointed when Bell broke the news that she had joined the GAA as a field Goddess. They used all their influence and connections to get Belldandy the best training and opportunities. They opened a lot of doors, pulled a lot of strings, and called in more than a few IOU's to Gods and Goddesses at the pinnacle of Heaven's hierarchy. Which wasn't easy, even as powerful as they were." Urd shifted her position slightly as she floated at Keiichi's eye level.

"And when she refused to go with their plans, they took it as an insult. That was a very long time ago, and while time eventually heals all wounds, and they had grudgingly accepted Belldandy's decision, there is still a large rift between them and her. Bell and our parents still love and respect each other and they'll treat each other civilly, but I fear any chance of a full reconciliation between the two is all but lost."

Urd continued. "You know how stubborn Belldandy can be. Well, guess who she got that from? Except our parents are a lot worse."

Keiichi said. "But Belldandy is still very highly regarded in Heaven, right?"

Urd said. "Of course. She has the total package. She's beautiful, even in a Heaven where the plainest Goddess is infinitely better looking than any woman here on Earth. She is one of only three First Class Goddesses to hold Level One Song Proficiency. Her magical technique is so good, it's the standard taught in the sacred schools. You've seen her record at the GAA. No other field Goddess could touch her. She was the most eligible Goddess in Heaven until you came along. Belldandy's name and reputation still carries a lot of weight in Heaven even as a mere field Goddess.

"But imagine how much more powerful and beloved she'd be if she would have followed the path our parents had laid out for her. They asked her why she would forsake what they thought was her destiny, and she told them that she believed that granting wishes was as important as running Heaven. Obviously, they didn't agree."

"So is it safe to say that they won't be at the wedding?"

"Definitely, Keiichi. If they decided to show, it would be a miracle. Besides, from what I've read, weddings are supposed to be joyous and happy occasions. Those two would just sit there being miserable, and making everyone around them feel just like they do."

Before Keiichi could ask another question, Urd abruptly grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around to face the door and firmly pushed him out of her room. Getting the not-too-subtle hint, Keiichi shuffled back to his room and went to bed. Lying on his futon, he tried to digest all that Urd had told him, but sleep had other plans.

**Chapter 5**

**Three Weeks Later-November 11.**

Wedding plans were starting to come into place at Tarikihongan Temple. After some thought, Keiichi and Belldandy decided to take advantage of their previous affiliation with Nekomi Tech to allow the school's Flower Arranging and Photography Clubs to take care of the flowers and the wedding photos. Keiichi knew that allowing them to take on such an important responsibility was a gamble. After all, he was entrusting a major part of the ceremony to a bunch of college kids who took pictures and arranged flowers as a hobby. In past Spring Carnivals, Keiichi had witnessed the offerings of both clubs and wasn't exactly impressed by either of them. Flowers that had no business together, no symmetry or balance, and a general lack of sophistication didn't inspire much confidence in Keiichi, and pictures that were out of focus, too bright, too dark, or had uninspiring subjects only served to convince Kei that this wasn't a good idea.

But Belldandy, who always strove to see the best in even the most hopeless situation gently reminded Keiichi that the club members were trying their best, and she believed that everything would turn out all right. She also reminded him that the price was right. In short, the clubs offered to do the wedding for free in exchange for Bell and Keiichi giving them a positive recommendation if everything turned out all right. Trusting Belldandy's wisdom and judgment in all things, Keiichi agreed to the proposal and let his Goddess take care of the matter.

The couple set the wedding date for Christmas Day. They did so because that was the day they first met, and also they believed that in the spirit of a holiday dedicated to the giving and receiving of gifts, they reasoned that the greatest thing that they ever gave to each other was their love.

Belldandy picked out her wedding gown, but when Keiichi tried to take a look at it, she quickly pulled the picture away because she wanted it to be a secret. When Keiichi asked about how much it would cost, she told him that it wouldn't cost anything except for the materials because she was going to make it herself. Keiichi could hardly believe what his Goddess was saying because while he knew that Belldandy could knit, surely sewing up something as complicated as a wedding gown was easily beyond even her abilities. Then she told him that she was going to make the dresses for the brides maids as well as the tuxes for him, his father and the groomsmen. That convinced Keiichi that Belldandy had gone completely off her rocker.

In his mind, there was no way that she could pull all this off. The gown was one thing, but to make all the clothes for the wedding party? That was madness. Keiichi offered to spring for the tuxedo rental for himself as well as his groomsmen, but Belldandy refused. She told him to relax and to trust her. With some reluctance, he did so.

Keiichi and Belldandy also completed the list of the wedding party. It was biased towards the the bride's side with Urd, Megumi, Chihiro, and Sora Hasagawa as the bridesmaids. As Keiichi didn't have many close male friends, and against his better judgment, he ended up having only Tamiya and Ootaki as his groomsmen. He could only imagine the utter destruction those two could cause, but he was rather spoiled for choice. He certainly wasn't going to ask Aoshima. And while he counted the other members of the Motor Club as friends, he didn't know them well enough to make them his groomsmen, although he did invite them to the wedding. Also, he chose to forego having a best man, because while he had no choice as to having his two frenemies as his groomsmen, he didn't trust either of them enough to be his best man.

Belldandy decided to make Urd her maid of honor. Sigel, the robotic girl Skuld converted from an old welcome doll was to be the flower girl. Banpei, Skuld's first robot who was smitten with Sigel was to be the ring bearer. But the question remained as to what to do with Skuld. Too young to be a bridesmaid, and too old to be a flower girl, both Keiichi and Belldandy couldn't decide where she fit in the ceremony plans. And while she largely accepted the relationship between her older sister and Keiichi, occasionally, Skuld would make it known that she still wasn't completely on board. Kei and Bell decided to make her the usher who seated the guests. They figured she couldn't get into too much trouble doing that.

**The Mishima Group Apartments**

**9:30am, November 11**

**Miss Sayoko Mishima,**

**You are cordially invited to **

**the Wedding of **

**Goddess First Class Belldandy **

**and**

**Mr. Keiichi Morisato.**

**Friday, December 25, 1992. 2:00pm.**

**Tarikihongan Temple**

**Nekomi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.**

Sayoko stood dumbfounded in the midst of the lobby of the luxury apartment building her father's company owned looking at the wedding invitation in her hand. It was written on thick cream colored paper in Belldandy's flowing cursive style. The first thing she thought to herself after reading the invitation was, _"Who in the hell plans their wedding in December? Anyone with half a brain knows that you don't get married in the winter! Idiots!"_

But soon her thoughts changed from the foolishness of her principal rival having her wedding in December, to whom she was marrying. For years, Sayoko resented all the attention that Belldandy received since coming to Nekomi City. The heiress was always used to being the center of attention, the straw that stirs the drink, and the one who every girl on campus wanted to emulate, and every guy wanted to date.

Like her cousin Toshiyuki Aoshima, she was the heir to the head of a vast corporate empire. She was rich beyond belief. There was nothing she couldn't buy. And men all over campus fell all over themselves trying to catch her eye. Concert tickets to the hottest acts. Reservations to the newest and trendiest restaurants. VIP access to the hippest clubs. Those were some of the gifts men would shower upon Sayoko in an effort to gain favor. And she would accept all of those tokens, and still not give her potential suitors the time of day. But because she was so beautiful, and so rich, the men of Nekomi Tech would keep on trying, and Sayoko would keep leading them on. She was the self-titled Queen of Nekomi Tech. Every year, she won the beauty pageant that bore that name. She had it all. Looks, talent, brains. The most eligible woman on campus, and she wasn't shy about letting anyone know it.

But all that changed the day Belldandy arrived on campus. The Goddess immediately became the hit of the school. Compared to her, Sayoko was yesterday's news. Last year's model. The leftovers on the discount rack. The attention that Sayoko basked in dried up like a pool of water in the desert.

The men of Nekomi Tech had a new object for their affections. They followed the Goddess wherever she went thrusting gifts and favors before her. But Belldandy politely refused them all and made it clear that there was only one man that she cared about.

Keiichi went from being the clueless geek who was branded a complete loser by his classmates to being the luckiest guy on campus. Everyone wondered how a lame undistinguished face in the crowd like him could end up with a girl that eclipsed the Queen in all things. But the last straw came when Belldandy unwittingly committed the ultimate crime. She stole the title of Queen of Nekomi Tech from Sayoko. Bell had no clue how much the heiress valued that honor, how so much of her existence depended on a title that meant nothing outside of campus. Sayoko never forgave Bell for taking away her royalty and all the adoration that came with it.

So she plotted and planned. Schemed and dreamed. She tried every underhanded trick she knew to dishonor Belldandy. But nothing seemed to work. Then she tried to undermine Keiichi and Bell's relationship. She tried spying on them in an effort to find out about Belldandy's magic. She attempted to flirt with Keiichi to make Belldandy jealous. She attempted to put the couple in embarrassing situations, but if anything, she ended up becoming the butt of her own jschemes.

There was even a time, in which she found herself slowly gaining feelings for Keiichi herself, despite trying to drive a wedge between him and Belldandy.

Sayoko put a lot of time and effort into exacting her revenge on Belldandy for stealing her glory. But it seemed that all Sayoko really had to do was wait. Because Belldandy only attended classes at Nekomi Tech to be with Keiichi, once he left school, so did she. The furor over the Goddess died down, and Sayoko was back to being the ruler over her campus domain. Things were as they should be. Sayoko Mishima on top of the world and everyone else groveling at her feet, until now.

Sayoko was sure that Belldandy had sent the invitation to her to rub her ultimate victory in the heiress's face. Obviously, by crowing to any and all that despite all of Sayoko's machinations, her and Keiichi were still together, and were getting married, of all things, she'd declared victory over her fiercest rival.

But after a moments reflection, Sayoko decided that it wasn't worth it to get angry at what she considered an old battle best forgotten. She was poised to waltz into an executive vice-president position at her father's company upon graduation. Soon, she would be saying 'Goodbye and Good Riddance' to dreary old Nekomi Tech and its boring bush-league politics. She was ready for the big time. Dreaming of becoming Queen of a much bigger and more prestigious domain. She didn't have the time or the desire to keep clinging on to a place and people she'd outgrown.

Sayoko had thought about tossing the invitation. But she considered it rude to do so without some kind of response. Actually attending the wedding was out. She wouldn't be caught dead in that tumble-down old temple. But if she sent along some token of congratulations with a note saying that she was sorry, but could not attend the wedding due to pressing business, she'd save face as well as prove that she had let bygones be bygones. And she still did have some feelings for Keiichi. Even after all the nasty things she had done to him and Belldandy, he still treated Sayoko with respect.

Sayoko looked at her watch. _"Damn, I've wasted five minutes with this invitation, and now I'm late." _she thought to herself. _ "I'll just pick up some cheap little knick-knack and have my staff send it to them."_

She once again began walking with purpose through the lobby towards the sleek black metal and smoked glass front doors. The doorman and valet were on the job today. Her silver late model Mercedes-Benz coupe was sitting in the driveway, V-12 engine purring as the doorman opened the front door so she could sweep through. The valet hopped out of the car and held the Benz's door open for its owner. Se slid in behind the wheel without so much as a thank you to her minions, who bowed low in obedience, if not in reverence to her.

Sayoko believed in making sure she didn't get too familiar with her employees. They knew their role, and she made sure of it. She tossed her Gucci purse in the passenger seat where it bounced off something that was already sitting there. Lifting the purse, she noticed that there was a small package sitting in the front seat. The package was about 4 inches square on all sides and was wrapped in red paper with a strange writing all over it. It looked like Kanji, but it said no words that she was familiar with. There was a note attached to it, addressed to her. She grabbed the note and opened it.

_Dear Sayoko,_

_I'm sure that by now, you've received the invitation to attend Keiichi and Belldandy's wedding. _

_And I'm also sure that it would be beneath you to attend. But you can't just throw the invitation _

_away. Even one so highly placed as yourself knows how rude that can be. So I have decided to give _

_you a hand as it were. Please send this package to Keiichi and Belldandy along with a note stating _

_that you couldn't attend, but that you are sending along this little wedding present in your absence._

_I must ask you not to unwrap the package or try to determine what is in it. It is a surprise. Just _

_send the package as it is._

_Sincerely,_

_A Friend._

Sayoko didn't know what to make of this. The note echoed her thoughts exactly. She called the valet and asked him whether he had seen anyone put the package in her car, and in a shaky terrified voice, he answered that he had been watching her car all day, as were his standing orders, and that no one approached her car, much less put anything in it. She dismissed the man, and read the note again. She was tempted to tear open the package to see what was in it. After all, she wasn't used to sending packages containing items that she hadn't personally picked out. But as Sayoko reached for the parcel, a strange feeling of foreboding entered her mind. The closer her hand got, the stronger the feeling became. It was a subtle feeling. Not a voice, but a feeling that told her in no uncertain terms that it was a very good idea to heed the instructions on the note and just send it along. 


	3. Part 3

**Chapter 6**

**11:00 am, November 13.**

**Tarikihongan Temple.**

"Keiichi." Belldandy called into the temple. "A package arrived in the mail." Bell had been outside in the courtyard admiring the fall scenery. Most of the trees had already shed their leaves, and it was a crisp fall day. Just cool enough that sweaters were a good idea. Wearing a bulky long multicolored sweater and black tights, Bell had been watching a few squirrels frolicking around the yard. In between gathering nuts, acorns and other food to stash away for the upcoming winter, the furry critters would occasionally stop and play, providing no end of amusement and joy to the Goddess. Bell loved to just sit outside and watch the various animals that made the temple courtyard home. It brought about a calming effect to Belldandy's soul. It made her treasure what she had and how her life had changed in such a short span of time. Overhead a dozen different types of birds sat in the trees adding their intricate songs to the gentle breezes. One bird landed on Belldandy's shoulder and chirped a greeting to her. She listened closely.

"Really?" she said to the little bird. "So you're saying that this is going to be a colder than usual winter? Thank you for letting me know this. I will tell Keiichi. " The bird cheeped in reply and flew off.

Her respite was interrupted by the mailman, who dropped off an unusual package to the temple. Belldandy graciously accepted it, and brought it into the Tea Room. Hearing her voice, Keiichi joined her a few moments later.

"Did you order something, Belldandy?" Keiichi asked, curiously.

"No, Keiichi. Did you?"

"Not lately. But it's addressed to the both of us. I wonder what it is?"

"Who did it come from, Keiichi?"

He read the label. "Sayoko. That's interesting. We haven't heard from her in a while. We sent her an invitation, right?" Keiichi asked.

"Yes, we did. I wonder what she sent us. Open it, Keiichi." Bell said expectantly.

Keiichi ripped away the brown paper covering the parcel. It was further wrapped in red paper with unusual writing on it. Keiichi put the package to his ear and gently shook it. "Well, it's not ticking." He pulled away the attached note and read it.

_Dear Keiichi and Belldandy._

_I received your invitation. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the ceremony due to important family business. However, I am passing along this little present in commemoration of your special day. I wish you all the happiness you both deserve._

_Sincerely,_

_Sayoko Mishima_

Belldandy said warmly, "That was very nice of Sayoko to remember us like this. I will write her a thank-you note as soon as possible."

Keiichi knelt down at the table and gently unwrapped the gift and opened the box. As he held up the contents of the box, he said, "This is what Sayoko sent us?" A grimace came over his face as he showed Belldandy.

She gazed upon it and said, "Well, it's...unusual."

It was a small figurine, about three inches high. To say that it was unusual was putting it mildly, but Belldandy had enough respect for Sayoko, to not give her true feelings to the grotesque little figure.

In short, it was downright ugly. The figurine had a face like a cross between a pig and a goat. It had curling horns that spiraled down from the top of its head to its sides. The eyes had a penetrating stare that Keiichi had a hard time breaking. It's belly was distended and fat, and it nakedly squatted on knobbly legs that ended in clawed feet. The face was scrunched up in a gnarled mix of a smile and a grimace. In one hand it held a staff with what looked like a skeleton of a coiled snake with jaws wide open wrapped around it, in the other hand, it held what looked like a human skull with a lit candle in its mouth.

Keiichi said angrily, "Is this Sayoko's idea of some cruel joke? If it is, I'm calling her up right now and telling her that this isn't funny."

Belldandy put her hand out to stop her fiance. "Keiichi, we don't know what Sayoko's intentions are regarding this. But we can't refuse a gift that has been freely given to us. We have to assume that Sayoko doesn't mean any offense by giving us this present."

Keiichi said, "Belldandy, look at this thing. It's hideous. You know that Sayoko has never been fond of you. She thinks that you intentionally stole the title of "Queen of Nekomi Tech" from her. She has never forgiven you for that. It would be just like her to send something like this to us."

"Yes, Keiichi." Bell said. It's not very pretty. But I still don't believe that Sayoko meant any offense by sending this to us. I don't feel any negative emotions or energies here." She took the figurine from Keiichi, and held it up to her face to survey it closely. At that moment, Keiichi felt a slight twinge of pain in the back of his head, but it was gone before he could really react to it.

Keiichi still wasn't excited about having the awful little statue in the temple. But he always trusted Belldandy's judgment, and he didn't want to say or do anything that would offend her. "Okay, Belldandy. I'll trust you on this one, but I'm still not liking this at all."

Belldandy rose to her feet and put the statue on a shelf on the west wall of the Tea Room. "After a few days, you'll barely notice it's here."

"I doubt it, Bell, but for you, I'll try."

"That's all I ask, Keiichi."

Keiichi had some errands to run, and Belldandy went off to prepare lunch. Sitting alone in the Tea Room, the little statue sat. And after a moment, the green eyes of the horrible figure flashed ominously.

It was shortly after 12:30 in the afternoon when Keiichi returned from his business, and Bell had already laid on yet another of her wonderful lunches. She preferred to make her lunches simple and her dinners more lavish depending on how much food was in the temple. With Keiichi and Belldandy back working at Chihiro's, plus the raise he received from her, things were starting to look up in terms of finances. He was able to get the lights and other utilities back on, the material for the wedding clothes was on order and would arrive in a few days. Also, Belldandy was able to do more shopping and buy food that they hadn't been able to afford in the past month.

Keiichi entered the temple, took off his shoes and washed his hands in anticipation of yet another award winning meal lovingly prepared by his Goddess. He sat at the table and eagerly awaited what delicacies Bell had in store for him. It was a plateful of meticulously prepared seafood, perfectly cooked rice, fresh vegetables, and green tea.

Bell sat down across from him as she usually did to watch him eat. All seemed well, until Keiichi lifted his head to gaze upon the Goddess.

As soon as he locked eyes on Belldandy, a wave of emotion swept through his mind. But it wasn't the usual emotions of joy and happiness that Keiichi usually felt when he was with Belldandy. Rather it was a torrent of rage and hatred. It was as if a volcano of anger had erupted in Keiichi's mind and that the Goddess was the trigger...and the target.

Never had he felt such feelings of hatred against anyone. Keiichi was usually an easy going guy, and he even tolerated most of the craziness that Tamiya, Ootaki, and the rich cousins Aoshima and Sayoko put him through, but he had never felt angry enough to lash out at anyone. Especially the love of his life.

The caring side of Keiichi's mind rose up to try and quell the hate that was building up. It tried every magical and mental defense against the onslaught that was battering it. Keiichi knew that what was happening couldn't have been part of his nature. There was evil and powerful magic driving this hostility. Magic that he had not seen before, after all, he had only been a God for a little over six months and was still very green in the ways of magic. His rational side was being continually assaulted by the relentless waves of anger. The conflict between sides caused a blinding pain to roar through Keiichi's skull. He stifled a cry as his eyes clinched shut.

And the object of the maelstrom plaguing his mind, was his pure and loving Goddess.

The power that was invading his mind wanted to destroy Belldandy. It wanted to scar her beautiful face, to ravage her perfect features and to leave her as ugly and foul as it was. It wanted to lash out and strike her repeatedly, and make her bleed.

It was a blind, consuming, rage. The good side mounted one last surge at defense, but found itself overcome as the anger tore away at the last vestiges of resistance. As it took over, Keiichi's face took on a mask of grotesque violence.

Belldandy noticed that Keiichi had paused before eating, and that a dark cast had descended over him. Usually, as soon as the food hit the table, he was digging in to enjoy his Goddess's latest offering. She said to him, "Keiichi, is everything all right?"

Keiichi's eyes snapped open at Belldandy's words. And in a tightly controlled mutter, he spoke.

"No, Belldandy. Everything is NOT all right!"

"Keiichi, what's the problem? If you tell me,I can fix-"

"Belldandy, I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem is YOU!" Keiichi snarled, eyes blazing.

The words Keiichi said struck Belldandy as hard as a fist. She could hardly believe the words that came from Keiichi's lips "I don't understand-" she pleaded.

"There's nothing to understand, Belldandy." roared Keiichi. Trembling with rage. "You are my problem. I am getting sick and tired of you always fussing over me. I'm getting sick and tired of all your smiling and singing. I'm getting sick and tired of YOU!" Keiichi said, voice rising Pointing a shaking finger at Belldandy. The fury within his mind fully in charge.

"Keiichi! What are you talking about?" Tears forming in Bell's eyes, voice breaking. "What have I done to make you so angry?"

Keiichi bellowed, "What a stupid question from a clueless Goddess! You came into my life, Belldandy!. You came into my life and turned it upside down!. You and your crazy sisters!. I have been putting up with you, Urd and Skuld for four long years, and I have had ENOUGH!." At that, he flipped over the table of food. Hot tea flying everywhere, missing Belldandy's face by mere inches.

"Keiichi, why?!" Bell collapsing, sobbing in a pool of conflicting emotions.

"Stop saying my name, Belldandy!. You know what I want you to do? You want to know how to 'fix' this?" Keiichi rose as he stared his eyes of malice into Belldandy's. "I want you to take those miserable sisters of yours and return back to Heaven. The wedding is off, I no longer love you. I no longer want to even see you anymore. Get out of my face, Belldandy. "

"Are you serious, Keiichi? Do you truly no longer love me? Do you no longer want me to be by your side?" Belldandy asked, her world devastated, her voice weak.

"Are you deaf, Belldandy? Did I not make myself clear to you? Are you so stupid that I must spell it out for you? No, I longer love you. No, I no longer want you by my side!" He raised his arm as if to strike the Goddess. She grabbed the arm and held on. "No, Keiichi!"

Keiichi shook Belldandy's arm off violently. He roughly pushed her away from him. She stumbled back, nearly falling to the floor. "If this is truly what you want..." She slowly started backing away from her crazed fiance then turned and walked out of the room. She stopped at the threshold of the Tea Room, and looked back expecting Keiichi to change his mind.

"GET OUT OF HERE, BELLDANDY!" Keiichi grabbed a plate and hurled it at the door. It nearly hit Belldandy and crashed against the wall. Bell ducked out of the way just in time and took off running down the hall.

As soon as Bell left, the anger that had consumed Keiichi for the past few minutes suddenly dissipated. The pain in the back of his skull disappeared as if shut off by a switch. His eyes and face showed none of the rage that distorted it. In short, he looked and felt just like normal.

He looked around the Tea Room, and noticed that Belldandy was gone, and that the table of food was flipped over. The tea and his lunch were all over the tatami mats that covered the floor.

"_What happened here?" _ Keiichi thought to himself. He had no clue or memory of what had just occurred. He got up and headed towards the door. Just then, he heard crying coming from the end of the hall. Loud wrenching sobs. He recognized that crying. It was Belldandy. He rushed to the end of the hall, and found her huddled in a corner, knees drawn up to her chest, head down. Her hair disheveled. Shoulders heaving in rejection. She looked traumatized. There was only one time before when Keiichi had seen his Goddess in such bad shape. That was when she stood up to Kami-sama after he called her demanding that she cut her contract with Keiichi, and return to Heaven. She firmly refused to submit to Kami-sama's order's, forcing the Supreme Deity to hold a hearing to decide Belldandy's fate. The emotions of her defiance plus the crushing reality of the consequences should she have failed Kami-sama caused her to lose her composure.

He dropped to her side. "Belldandy! What's wrong?"

Bell looked up, saw her man, and flinched, putting her hands up to shield her face, which was frozen in terror. She quickly backed away from him. "Keiichi, no! Stay away! Don't hurt me, Kei, please." She cried.

Keiichi moved closer to Belldandy in an attempt to hug and console her, but she shook him off as she scuttled away from him again. "Don't touch me, Keiichi." Belldandy said. "Just answer me this one question. Did you really mean every word you said to me back in the Tea Room? Because if you did, Urd, Skuld and I will be gone by tonight."

"What happened, Belldandy. Who did this to you? What did I say to you?" Keiichi asked gently. Not understanding what Belldandy was carrying on about.

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't."

"You did, Keiichi." Bell said, then erupted in a fresh bout of tears and wailing. "Y-You did this."

"What did I do? You know I'd never do anything to you to make you cry like this."

"You really don't know what happened back in the Tea Room just now?"

"All I remember is that you served me lunch, and the next thing I knew, you were gone, the table was tipped over, with food all over the place, and now I see you crying."

Bell composed herself enough to tell him all that happened in the Tea Room. The verbal abuse, the tipping of the table, the throwing of the plate.

"Honestly, Belldandy, I don't remember any of this."

Bell tentatively slid back next to him, and slowly and carefully put her hand on his forehead.

"Keiichi, stay very calm. I am going to replay what I saw and experienced into your mind. Maybe you won't believe me if I told you, but you will if I show you." Keiichi leaned back as Bell closed her eyes and quietly recited an incantation:

"**Oh, Spirits of memory and recollection. I am the Goddess Belldandy. Fill in the gaps in this man's mind. Return to him the lost memories, so that he may see all things clearly."**

A moment passed, then saw with his own eyes, the horror of his behavior in the Tea Room. He saw the abuse he heaped upon his Goddess. He heard the words of hatred, saw himself raise his hand to Belldandy and then push her across the room. He saw himself tip over the table of food and throw the dinner plate just missing Belldandy. He saw the length, depth and breadth of his anger. How it consumed his clear thinking and replaced it with white-hot fury.

Now it was Keiichi's turn to cry. Faced with the evidence of his crime, even though he didn't remember doing it. He felt nothing but guilt and endless remorse. The tears came freely. How did he act in such a vile manner? Or more importantly, why? How much damage did he cause in his relationship with Belldandy? Would she ever forgive him? Did she still love him, and would she still want to be his wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, and until death? Would she leave him alone in that temple to contemplate his behavior?

After what seemed like an eternity of tears, Keiichi finally spoke.

"Belldandy, I truly do not remember saying or doing any of what you showed me. You have to believe me. But it's clear that I mistreated you, no, I abused you. I have no excuse for my actions, and if you choose not to forgive me, I'll understand."

The Goddess continued to look into Keiichi's tearful, red eyes as he continued.

"Maybe you should go back to Heaven." He paused. "But not because I despise you, but because I don't deserve you. I don't deserve to have you by my side, and I don't deserve to have you as my wife, much less my friend. If you wish to leave, you are free to do so. I won't try to stop you. But please forgive me. Please let me atone for this." He buried his head in his hands and continued to cry.

"You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me, Belldandy. I would do anything for you. I would give my life for you. And you have made it so special. I want you with me forever, but I think that I might have destroyed what we had."

Belldandy's heart went out to Keiichi. "Keiichi, My Beloved Keiichi. I know your heart. I know your words are sincere. I believe that you were not in your right mind when you did those things. Something happened to make you act as you did. That was not the Keiichi I love. Even though those words and actions hurt me, I forgive you. I will stay by your side always, and I still want to be your wife." She drew him near and hugged him tightly. She kissed his forehead as he continued to cry.

"To think, that I raised my hand against you, that I pushed you. How can you forgive me?"

"I can forgive you because I know you, and I love you. You could have struck me, if you truly wanted to. But you didn't. You pushed me away because you _didn't_ want to hurt me. But we have to find out what it was that caused you to lose control. You go into your room and get some rest, and I'll clean up this mess."

"Okay, Belldandy. But I still don't deserve you."

"Nor I, you. But fate has thrown us together anyway."

"You have my word, Bell. That will never happen again."

" I know, Keiichi."

After a few more moments of closeness, the two separated. Keiichi to his room, and Belldandy to the Tea Room.

A few moments later, Urd walked into the Tea Room where Belldandy was cleaning up after Keiichi's outburst. "What happened? Looks like a bomb went off in here." Urd asked.

Belldandy paused. As a Goddess First Class, she was forbidden to lie, but she just couldn't tell her sister that Keiichi had verbally abused her. Urd would kill him, literally, and not even bother to ask how or why it happened. "Well, let's just say, that Keiichi had a little problem. Where were you coming from, Urd?"

Urd said, "Oh, I was out in town picking up some supplies for my lab. Also, the brat wanted me to pick up her the latest issue of her favorite manga."

Bell breathed a sigh of relief.

Urd looked around the room. "Well, whatever Keiichi's 'little' problem was, I hope he's over it." She turned to leave when her eyes locked on to the little figurine on the shelf. She pointed to it and said angrily, "Belldandy, what the hell is that doing in here, and how did it get into this room?" Belldandy glanced at the statue and reached for it. "Oh, this? It was sent to us as a wedding present." Urd blocked her reach and warned, "Don't touch it, Belldandy! Do you have any idea what this thing is?"

"No, Urd. It looks like a statue to me. A not very pretty one, but just a statue."

"Bell, please don't tell me that you put this here."

"I did."

"Are you the only one who touched it?"

"No, Keiichi touched it first."

"Oh, no." She looked at the mess on the floor and put two and two together. "I think I see the source of Keiichi's 'little' problem. Did he attempt to attack you, did he yell at you or try to harm you in any way?"

Surprised, Belldandy had no choice but to tell Urd about what happened between Keiichi and herself.

Urd sighed deeply. "Belldandy, this is a Rage Token. It's a nasty bit of magic that causes the first person to touch it to develop a mindless rage and anger against the second person who touched it. And it only happens when the two people involved, and this Token are all in the same place."

"So, that's the reason that Keiichi acted normally when he found me in the hall?"

"Yes. Most likely, he doesn't remember a word of what he said or what he did. Let me show you. Go and get Keiichi and bring him in here. Don't worry, I'll put up a barrier, so you won't be hurt."

"Okay, Urd." Belldandy ran off to get Keiichi, while Urd set up the barrier. When Bell came back with Keiichi, she entered the room first. When he came in, Urd threw up the barrier. Keiichi immediately flew into a murderous rage. **"BELLDANDY! Why the hell are you still here? Didn't I tell you to leave and take your sisters with you? How stupid are you? Don't you understand you're not wanted here?"** Keiichi threw himself against the barrier with all the force he could muster. Even though they were both safe, neither Urd or Belldandy could resist the temptation to back away in fear. Keiichi started to throw spells against the barrier, but the invisible force separating him from the Goddesses continued to hold.

Urd shouted over Keiichi's rant. "And it's even worse, now that he's a God. Because his powers are now affected. Close off your Sacred Coupling, so that he can't use your powers to break through."

Belldandy did so. As she watched her lover continue to flail and fight against the barrier. She said under her breath, "Poor Keiichi. So Urd, how do we get rid of this Rage Token?"

"Fortunately, for us, it's not hard." Urd said as she used the barrier to push Keiichi out of the room. Once he left the Tea Room, he returned back to normal, and there was no sign whatsoever of his previous behavior. He stood out in the hallway with a clueless look on his face. "How did I get out here?"

Urd said, "Keiichi, whatever you do, don't come into this room right now."

"Why."

"Because we found out the source of your 'rage' problem."

"Okay, what was it?"

"Who sent you that ugly statue."

"Sayoko."

"Why doesn't this surprise me?"

Belldandy interjected, "I'm sure that Sayoko had no idea whatsoever about what this statue did. I believe that she was given this to send to us. I know that Sayoko was never fond of me and Keiichi being together, but I can't believe that she would willingly use magic against us. She doesn't even believe in magic."

Urd said, "I tend to agree. There's only one person I know of who deals in this kind of magic, and no, it's not who you think, although he is one of her disciples. She probably had him make this Rage Token for her, and somehow slipped it to Sayoko. Keiichi, Go back to your room and stay there, until we tell you to come out. We have to dispose of this statue, and we can't have you anywhere around."

Keiichi headed back to his room. Urd said to Belldandy, "Okay, surround the Token with as strong a barrier as you can muster. I will do the same. We have to get it out into the open and we'll destroy it in the courtyard."

Belldandy nodded and brought forth her strongest barrier. A deep blue powerful light surrounded the Token. Urd added her red barrier to her sister's, bathing the Token in a rich purple glow.

"Careful, Belldandy. Now we have to levitate it, and carry it out into the courtyard. We cannot touch it at all. Because whoever touches it will be a target of Keiichi's rage."

"Right." said Belldandy. Both sisters focused their powers and slowly the Token lifted off the shelf, and settled just before them. Slowly and gently, Bell and Urd moved out into the hallway with the statue floating before them. As they approached Keiichi's room, Urd called out. "Keiichi, we're passing your room. Turn your head away from us. If you look at it, you'll be caught up in its magic."

Keiichi did as Urd said. The Goddesses passed by and out the front door. Even though his head was turned, Keiichi could still feel the power of the figurine gnawing at the edges of his mind. It poured through the Goddess' barrier, and tried to trigger the rage within him, but because the barrier was strong enough to dilute the Token's power, he was able to fight it back and maintain control as long as he didn't cast his eyes upon it.

They reached the courtyard, and let the Token float to the ground. The barrier removed, the evil little statue glowed menacingly in the sunlight.

Urd said. "It will take a joint effort to destroy this thing. I'll hit it with a lightning spell, you hit it with your strongest Wind spell. Both sisters raised their arms overhead. Urd began the chant, as she composed the spell, ominous clouds, black as cast iron formed overhead. Bolts of lightning danced wildly between the cloud formations, charging the sky with electricity. Belldandy picked up the chant adding her power to Urd's. The winds picked up blowing the fallen leaves all around the courtyard.

She created a vortex that surrounded the Rage Token on all sides within a cylinder of howling winds. Urd let the lightning spell build up to its maximum level, and when she could no longer hold it back, with a savage downward thrust of her arms, she called forth the destruction. A single monstrous bolt of lightning descended from the clouds, entered the cylinder formed by Belldandy's winds and struck the Token dead center.

At that very moment, the Goddesses heard a tortured cry come from Keiichi's room. Belldandy wanted to go to his rescue, but Urd stopped her. "Belldandy, no. Do not go to him right now. Keep up the wind spell." Urd continued to pound the Token with repeated bolts of fury. With every strike, Keiichi's cries became more and more shrill. Through her connection with Keiichi, Bell could feel the pain of his suffering, but obeyed her sister's command, and continued casting the spell. The Token started to turn cherry red, then white, and then with a mighty BOOM!, exploded into a thousand pieces.

"Now Belldandy." Urd said with urgency. "Use that wind spell to cast the pieces to the four corners of the earth."

Belldandy sealed the vortex and magically lifted it into the air, along with the pieces of the Token. With a sweeping gesture of her arms, the vortex parted, taking the offending pieces and scattering them. Urd and Bell closed down their magical work and raced to Keiichi's room, where they found him passed out on the floor. Belldandy fell to her knees and cradled Keiichi's head in her hands. She spoke reassuring words to her man.

"Keiichi will be fine, Belldandy. The pain he suffered was due to the portion of the Token's spirit that was implanted within him when he first touched it. When we destroyed the physical form of the object, its magic was forced out of him. None too pleasantly, I might add. He'll need some rest and a little TLC. I'll leave _that_ to you." Urd said as she tipped Belldandy the wink as she left the room leaving Keiichi and his Goddess alone.


	4. Part 4

**Chapter 7**

**2:00pm Nov 13**

**Tarikihongan Temple.**

Belldandy continued to care for Keiichi as he lay on the floor of his room. She cradled his head in her lap and stroked his hair lovingly. She smiled as she did so, relieved that the source of Keiichi's bizarre behavior was as a result of the Rage Token, and not because he was genuinely angry at her.

Even though, in his impaired state, Keiichi had said and done some bad things to her, she believed that deep down, a part of him was trying to retain some control. According to Urd, the token could cause a weaker person to lose control to the point that they would definitely commit physical violence.

Keiichi didn't have a violent bone in his body, and knowing this, Belldandy should have determined that his anger was brought about from an outside magical force. But the ferocity and power of Keiichi's rage caught her by complete surpriseand disrupted her reasoning.

Belldandy continued to think about the recent events as she cared for Keiichi when Lind stopped by Keiichi's room.

She was dressed in her white battlesuit, and by the look on her face, Belldandy could tell she was back to warrior mode. During the past month, while Lind was on vacation since returning from Heaven with the rest, she, Belldandy, and Keiichi had gone out on various outings, she worked out constantly, and almost ate the gang out of house and home. She had loosened up quite a bit in terms of her overall attitude, and she actually seemed as if she was enjoying herself for a while.

"Belldandy." Lind said in her usual no-nonsense voice.

"Oh, hello Lind." Belldandy said pleasantly.

As befit her nature, Lind got to the point. "Belldandy, I am going back to Heaven. I have to get back to work. My vacation is over."

"Aww, Lind. I was hoping that you'd stay for the wedding. Do you really have to leave now? What's another month?"

"I would love to stay and be a part of your special day." Lind said. "I have never been a part of a wedding before, and I'm sure it would have been a lot of fun." She let a smile escape her lips for a split second, then became all business again as she held up a message cube. "But I received an urgent message from Heaven. There's something big going on there, and it looks like my assistance is needed."

"Do you need my help with anything? What about Urd or Skuld? Can they help?"

"No. Belldandy. This isn't a recall notice or anything that requires your involvement. Heaven's not under threat or in any danger. They just called for me to come back"

"What's going on?"

Lind firmly shook her head. "I can't tell you. You aren't cleared for the information in the message, unless field Goddesses are now holding Iridium-level clearances."

Belldandy blanched when she heard this. Whatever Lind was talking about, when she mentioned Iridium, Bell knew that the issue was well above her paygrade. Iridium was the highest level of security clearance by far in Heaven. Only Lind, the members of the Heavenly Council and Kami-sama himself held those credentials. Even though Lind couldn't say what was in the message she received, that she let it be known that it was under Iridium-level secrecy told Belldandy all she needed to know about whatever was going on in Heaven. Whatever it was, it was a very big deal.

"I might have told you too much already. I have to get going. Tell Keiichi that I appreciate the hospitality." Lind said as she waved goodbye. She walked out of the house into the courtyard and summoned the Gate and was gone in a flash.

Belldandy started to speculate about what Lind had said. She wondered whether this situation could have been linked to the matter of the Eye of Heaven that she, Keiichi, and her sisters endured. She tried to remember what had happened that could connect an Iridium level secret to those events, but she could not. It was at that time that Keiichi stirred in her lap. She looked down at him and continued to stroke his head.

His eyes opened, and he looked up at Belldandy. She smiled at Keiichi as if to tell him that all was forgiven.

"Belldandy."

"Yes, Keiichi? I am here. How do you feel?"

"Like Banpei was beating me upside the head with his staff for the last hour. I've got a serious headache."

" I can understand why. That Rage Token badly affected you."

"Is everything all right? Did you and Urd destroy it?"

"Yes, Keiichi. It's gone, never to bother us again."

"Once again, Bell, I'm so sorry that I did those things to you."

"You don't need to apologize, Keiichi. It wasn't your fault."

"Belldandy?"

"Yes?"

"If I ever do something like that again...?"

"Yes, Keiichi?"

"I want you to leave me and never come back. Don't even look back. Go and forget you ever met me. I don't want you to suffer because of me. Promise me that you'll do that."

Belldandy shook her head vigorously. "No."

"No?"

"No, Keiichi. I can't make that promise."

Keiichi was incredulous. "Why, Belldandy?"

"Because I know that it'll never happen again. I know you too well. As we go through life together, we will have times where we disagree with each other. There will be times when we make each other so mad that we may not like each other for a while. But I know that even if you're mad at me for something that I did, you'd never raise your voice or your hand to me. That's not your nature. We talk through our problems and arrive at a solution. Through it all, I will always love you, and will always be by your side."

"Yes, but..."

"But nothing, Keiichi. The sign of our true love is when we can still love and care for each other when we are going through tough times, and even when we don't always feel like loving each other. We've had some hard times, Keiichi. But we've made it through them, and we love each other even more than before. That's when we know that we have a real love. The hard times are when our love will shine brightest. And no matter how hard our life together gets, Keiichi. I will always be here for you."

"You're right as usual, Belldandy."

" I know, Keiichi."

Keiichi felt well enough that he could rise from Belldandy's lap. He straightened up, stretched out, and sat up facing his Goddess.

"Keiichi? How much do you remember from our trip to Heaven?" She asked.

"This last one?"

"Yes."

"Well, I remember watching Lind work out after we had our alone time, and then I remember one of Urd's experiments catching fire and you, Urd and Skuld in that Mjolnir Protocol trance. Lind and I followed you three to Heaven. We confronted Baldur and he told me about the secret you were hiding. I remember you creating that portal and you and your sisters stepping into it. Then we met Ragnar and entered the Eternal Chamber, and the next thing I remember was all of us lying in the grass outside the temple six months later. I remember that Ragnar had said something to us while we were in the Chamber, but nothing else.

Belldandy said, "I don't even remember any of that. I remember cleaning your room, and then ending up in the temple grass. I have no recollection of what happened in Heaven. It's very strange, Keiichi."

Keiichi looked at Belldandy quizzically and said, "Well, you were under the Mjolnir Protocol. That completely took over your body and mind. Why do you ask me what I remember?"

Bell responded. "Something that Lind said before she left to return to Heaven. She said that there's something big going on there, but she couldn't talk about it. It was under Iridium-level security."

"Iridium?"

"Yes." Bell said as if the word itself was forbidden to be said by a mere field Goddess. "Iridium is the highest level of security in Heaven. Only a few possess that level of knowledge."

"Well, if Lind specifically said that we weren't involved, then I don't see anything for us to worry about."

"You're right, Keiichi. If it was something that concerned us, we'd know about it."

Urd walked by Keiichi's room. "Oh, I see that you have returned to the land of the living, Keiichi. I trust that you are feeling better?"

Keiichi answered. "Yes, Urd. Thanks to you and Belldandy, I feel much better.

Urd said. "I was doing some checking and my suspicions were confirmed. The creator of that Rage Token was once a disciple of my mother. His name is Torvald. A pretty formidable demon in his own right. He was once very devoted to Hild and learned quite a bit about how to manipulate Rage magic from her. When he thought he had learned enough from her, he broke off his training and went his own way. He's a piece of work. Very powerful, headstrong, manipulative. Just like Mommy dearest."

Keiichi was about to say something about the apple not falling far from the tree when it came to Urd and her Mother, the Daimaikaicho, but he wisely held his tongue. " So, what is it about Rage magic?"

Urd looked as if she really didn't want to have this discussion, but she decided to speak anyway.

"To understand Rage magic, you need to understand magic in general, Keiichi. The use of magic is not free. It comes at a cost. Anytime Belldandy or I use our powers for too long, we have to rest and recover our energy. We get that energy from Yggdrasil, but when it's down, or we can't otherwise get that energy from it, we have to use other sources. Belldandy sleeps, I drink sake, and Skuld eats ice cream. But eventually, we recover what was expended.

"Rage magic is a different beast all together. Rage magic gets its power from the soul, and emotion. Specifically, the emotion of anger. Do you remember when Hild attacked Belldandy and hit her with Hell's Lightning?"

"How could I forget?" Keiichi answered, his voice flaring with anger. That incident was still fresh in his mind. He had almost lost Belldandy that day.

"You remember how you responded, right?"

"Of course. I cast Lava Wind Barrage and sent Hild back where she came from."

"Right, at that moment, you were working with a variation of Rage magic. You saw Belldandy lying there near death, and that sent you over the edge. You used your emotions, and the love you had for Belldandy, combined it with the hatred you had for Hild, and that provided the catalyst, as well as the raw magical material to cast that spell. Despite the fact that Lava Wind Barrage was a First Class spell and on the Restricted List, you were able to cast that spell even though you were a Second Class God barely in control of your powers at that time. Do you know why?"

Keiichi said. "No, why?" He had an idea, but he wanted to see whether Urd's answer matched what he was thinking.

"Because the ability to focus one's rage in that manner at such a high level, and to use it to channel such a powerful spell caused a temporary override in the protection programming of Yggdrasil. Your anger and desire to destroy Hild caused you to reach past the override protection in Yggdrasil that normally should have made it impossible to cast that spell. In short, for a moment, you beat the system. That is the reason that particular spell is on the Restricted List and can only be taught to certain highly trained First Class Gods and Goddesses. To allow lower class deities to be able to throw that spell around without any idea what they are doing would be catastrophic.

"Keiichi, you have the ability to take your emotions as well as the energy Belldandy passes to you through the Sacred Coupling and use it to fuel magic. Very powerful magic, I might add. Using Bell's jealousy storms to break her free of Hild's trap during your First Class test was brilliant. I could only imagine the thoughts and feelings roaring through your mind as you were kissing Hild. If you're not careful, Belldandy. I might try that on Keiichi to see what **I** can put into his mind." Urd said with a devilish wink.

"But." Urd continued. "Back to Rage magic. Rage magic works along the same lines, except that the user relies on no other emotion other than anger and rage. And of all the emotions that can be experienced, rage is the most dangerous, and the most corrosive. Rage and anger corrupts the soul totally and permanently. It can provide a limitless pool of energy from which a magic user of that type can draw his or her power, but remember what I said about magic coming at a cost, Keiichi. Rage magic burns extremely brightly, but for a very short time. Those who use it destroy themselves, as the rage and anger within them builds up and consumes their ability to feel any other emotion. At first, the user has to build up sufficient rage to cast the spell desired, but it can be very difficult to willingly suspend other emotions to summon rage on demand. But as the user becomes more familiar with the emotion of rage, it becomes easier to summon at will. But it also makes it harder to summon any other emotion. Soon, rage is all that user knows, and eventually it destroys him. But not without granting the user that deep pool of raw material to perform magic. And that's what happened to Torvald. He let the rage within him take control. It's all he knows now. It's what drives him, and eventually will destroy him."

Keiichi said. "Will he attack again? Is this something we'll have to constantly look over our shoulders about?"

Urd said. "Unknown. We have to assume that he will try something. Even though the rage has consumed him, he is infinitely patient. But one of the tactics that he uses is to plant the seed of an imminent attack into his victim's mind to keep them constantly on guard, so that they are so preoccupied with the thought of an attack, that such thoughts can do more harm to the victim than a real attack. Torvald has learned that the best attacks aren't always frontal, and that sometimes a mental attack does a lot more damage than a physical one. So it's best that we keep going as we are, and cross that bridge when we come to it. Between the three of us, we have what we need to defend ourselves. Keep it in the back of your mind. But you two have a wedding to plan. Don't let Torvald rob you of your special time."

"She's right, Keiichi." Belldandy said. "We can't let ourselves be overrun with the thought of if or when Torvald will attack again. We'll be playing right into his hands if we do." Keiichi tried to protest this seemingly lax attitude that the Goddesses were advocating. He wanted to focus his full attention

on dealing with this threat, when and however it arrived, but some of what the Goddesses were saying made some sense. And after all, even after knowing her for over four years, Keiichi still had his reservations about Urd and whatever agenda she served. But he had full and implacable trust in Belldandy. And if she thought that what Urd was saying was a wise course of action, then what right did he have in questioning Belldandy's trust in her own sister, her own flesh and blood? After all, they were both Norns. The Goddesses of Time. Their connections were so intertwined and deeply rooted that Keiichi could never understand the various workings of their relationship. So it was with no small amount of concern that Keiichi accepted Urd and Belldandy's course of action. Although he started to make some preparations of his own that he would keep secret from Belldandy. Because one just never knew.


	5. Part 5

**Chapter 8**

**9:00am, December 25**

**Tarikihongan Temple.**

The great day arrived at last. Even though winter had just arrived in Japan a few days ago, and the country was in the midst of celebrating Christmas and preparing for the upcoming New Year's holidays, Life at Tarikihongan Temple had reached a fever pitch for an entirely different reason. Today, there would be a wedding. The climax of a four year courtship between two most unlikely people. Keiichi Morisato, a gawky, awkward human made God, obsessed with motorcycles, who had little luck with women, and the Goddess Belldandy, a powerful and exquisite Goddess sent to Earth to fulfill a single wish.

Little did either of them know that the wish made four years ago would begin a new life together that would propel them through so many adventures, trials, a lot of joys and a few sorrows. But despite it all, the love that grew between Keiichi and his Goddess had never been brighter or stronger. Both knew that this day was merely a formality. Kei and Bell bound their lives together in an unbreakable bond forged in Heaven, when he confidently declared his love for Belldandy before the entire company of Goddesses and Kami-sama. And those Goddesses rewarded his declaration by transforming him into a God through the mystical Song of the Goddesses.

But those whom they loved on this Earth could and would not accept such a declaration made in Heaven. Not having seen and beheld Heaven's glories, they would think that Keiichi and Belldandy were crazy if the God and Goddess told them about their Heavenly binding. So for the benefit of the humans they cared about, they decided to get married. To confirm to them the pact that Kei and Bell made in Heaven.

During the last month, the preparations for Keiichi and Belldandy's nuptials proceeded at full throttle. Bell gave Keiichi a list of items she needed to make the wedding gown as well as the dresses for the bridal party and the tuxes for Keiichi's groomsmen. When he had bought and presented them to her, she immediately locked herself away in the Tea Room and except to prepare and serve meals, refused to come out and forbade anyone to come in and disturb her. If anyone attempted to open the door, she would block their way and gently, but firmly let them know that they were not to come in.

Keiichi tried numerous times at all hours to see what his Goddess was doing, partially out of concern, but also because he was intrigued by what she was up to, but she always told him in her own special way that her activities were a surprise and that he should please go away.

Of course, Urd and Skuld took their sister's actions as a challenge and devised all sorts of schemes and devices to sneak into the room, but Belldandy foiled every attempt. No matter what half-baked plan the sisters came up with and no matter what time of the day they hatched their latest plot, Belldandy was always one step ahead of them. Flustered, the two gave up.

After four days of cloak and dagger secrecy, Keiichi went into his room, and found laying on his chair a black tuxedo and top hat, a crisp white dress shirt, a white bow tie, and black shoes. Surprised, Keiichi picked up the suit and examined it closely. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the workmanship exceeded that of the finest tailors in Japan, or anywhere else, for that matter. The suit was perfectly sewn, without a stitch out of place. The pants were pressed with razor sharp cuffs. The shoes buffed to a high shine. If he were to buy or even rent a tux this well made, the cost would have been exorbitant. Everything about this suit screamed, 'Top of the Line.' He tried on the suit and marveled at how well it fit. It looked very distinguished on him, and fit perfectly. Keiichi stood in front of a mirror and said to himself, _"Is that me? I've never looked this good."_

"I do _so _love a man in a tuxedo!" A come-hither voice called from behind. Keiichi whipped around to see who it was just in time to see long bronze arms wrap around him, and his face pressed up close and personal to the awesome cleavage of Urd as she enveloped him in a smothering hug. Urd's voluptuous body filled Keiichi's vision as she swooped in to let the hapless and helpless Keiichi get a eyeful of her most prominent assets.

"Keiichi," Urd cooed. "You look almost good enough to eat. I never thought you'd clean up _this _well. I might marry you myself." Urd said as Keiichi tried to wriggle out of her grasp. But the more he tried to squirm free, the tighter Urd held him.

"Urd! Get away!" Keiichi cried in mock rage. "You know how Belldandy gets!"

"Keiichi, you know that you can't get enough of this hot body. C'mon, Kei. It'll be your last chance to take a walk on the wild side before saying 'I do.'" Urd taunted.

Keiichi paused a moment and then said. "I already get to walk on the wild side with Belldandy. You've never seen us in bed together. Believe me, there's nothing you can do better than her. So if you don't mind, please let me go."

Oh, fine! But you're making a big mistake refusing me." Urd grumbled as she released Keiichi. She struck a modeling pose and said, "How do you like the dress, Keiichi?"

This was the first opportunity that Keiichi had to see the dresses that Belldandy had made for her bridesmaids, and judging by the one made for Urd, Bell would have the prettiest bridesmaids in any wedding that he had seen, which admittedly weren't that many.

Urd was dressed in a ocean blue strapless number that was tight at the bodice to enhance her best feature, and it extended down to the hips to flare out into a flouncy skirt that ended three inches above the knee and begged to be twirled. Over her left breast was a large white corsage, and behind her right ear was a blood red flower, that Keiichi had never seen before. All in all, Urd cut quite an enticing figure, and Keiichi had to admit that to himself as she spun around letting him get a look at all sides. As she turned around, the skirt would lift just enough to afford a fleeting view of how truly long Urd's legs were.

In spite of being head over heels in love with what was arguably the most beautiful woman in the world, like most men, he couldn't stop himself from taking an occasional peek at a pretty girl in a fetching outfit. While this dress may have been a little bit too conservative according to Urd standards, which dictated that nothing can show too much skin, be too short, and too tight, the dress did look good on her.Keiichi had let his eyes linger upon Urd's curves a moment too long when Belldandy walked in.

"Oh, Keiichi." Bell said sweetly. "I see you're trying out the tuxedo. How does it fit?"

Keiichi jumped out of his skin at the sound of Belldandy's voice and struggled to compose himself.

"F-fine, Belldandy! It fits perfectly."  
"I'm so glad to hear that. I must say it looks very good on you." Belldandy said as she walked around Keiichi checking out the results of her labors. "I was a little worried that it wouldn't look all right for a first time project."

With her remark, Keiichi was reminded that indeed, this was the first time that Belldandy had ever taken on a sewing project this complicated. And once again, he marveled at his Goddess' ability to succeed at almost anything the first time she attempted it.

Kei asked. "This is incredible, Bell. How did you do all this?", as he pointed to Urd's dress and his tux. "We don't own a sewing machine. Don't tell me you did all this with just needles and thread."

Belldandy said "Thank you very much for the compliment, Keiichi. But, no, we don't have a sewing machine, and it took a little more than just a needle and thread. But it's my secret."

Keiichi wasn't entirely satisfied with Belldandy's response, but he didn't see a need to push it.

"So, Belldandy. Is there any chance that we can see the wedding gown?"

Bell vigorously shook her head. "No. Not until the ceremony.**"**

Urd said. "C'mon, Bell. Why do you have to be such a spoilsport? Can't we have just one little peek? We won't laugh or anything."

While she flashed her award-wining smile, Bell still stood firm. "I said no, and I mean no. You'll see it when the ceremony starts and not a moment before."

Keiichi and Urd looked at each other dumbfounded at Belldandy's curt response. "I guess she told us, Keiichi." Urd said.

"No use trying to budge her." said Keiichi. "When she gets like that, nothing in Heaven or Hell will make her change her mind."

At this time, Belldandy's bridesmaids: Chihiro; Hasegawa; and Megumi arrived to try on their dresses and not long after, Ootaki and Tamiya dawdled in to check out their tuxes. Hasegawa took one look at Urd in her bridesmaid dress, and almost fainted. "There's no way I'm ever gonna look that good in THAT dress." she complained as she held up the dress offered to her. But she changed her tune after putting it on. Somehow, the dress was able to accent and maximize even Sora's modest measurements, and for the first time ever, Hasegawa didn't look like a high school girl, but a very pretty and confident college co-ed. Chihiro looked at Hasegawa and said to Urd, "Wow, that dress looks awesome on her. I am genuinely impressed."

Hasegawa beamed. "You guys really think so? You really think I look all right? Please don't say that just to make me feel good."

Chihiro pulled Sora aside and whispered. "You know that we love to give you grief, Hasegawa. But this time, we're telling you the truth. You look gorgeous." She steered the nervous girl over to a mirror.

"Take a look for yourself."

Hasegawa gazed into the mirror at the stunning reflection staring back at her. She was struck speechless at what she saw. "I really look like a college girl. I don't believe it."

Urd said. "Neither do I. Who'd have thought that under that ugly duckling exterior, lurked a beautiful swan dying to be let out."

Chihiro crowed. "Hell, if this dress makes Hasegawa look like a million bucks, I can't wait to see what it does for me!" as she hurried off to change.

Meanwhile, Tamiya and Ootaki were trying on their tuxes, and liking what they saw.

"Looking good, Den" said Ootaki, sizing up his buddy.

"Feeling good, Dai" said Tamiya. Like the dresses, the tuxedos had the ability to make even these two behemoths look presentable. Keiichi wandered in and joked. "Excuse me, have you two seen Tamiya and Ootaki?"

"Very funny, Keiichi." said Tamiya.

"Yeah, Keiichi. Hardy har-har." bellowed Ootaki. "So you're actually gonna go through with this?"

"Yep." said Keiichi. I'm committed."

"You should be committed...to a mental hospital!" Tamiya chortled. He and Ootaki fell into fits of laughter.

"You two have never thought about finding a couple nice girls and getting married?" questioned Keiichi.

"Hell, no!" blustered Tamiya. "No chicks are evah gonna tie us down! Guys like us, we're men of the woild. We go where we want, and do what we want, and no girl is gonna tell us what to do."

"Right, Tamiya. We're as free as birds. Belldandy is gonna have you wrapped around her little finger, and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it."

"Tamiya, Ootaki! Get the hell out here and let me look at you!" Chihiro's voice roared through the temple.

"Yes, Chihiro!" Both men sounded off as they scurried out of Keiichi's room.

Keiichi chuckled as the two fell over each other trying to squeeze through the tight doorway. "_Yeah, right guys. No girl's gonna tell you what to do."_

The rest of the wedding preparations proceeded as planned. Megumi's boyfriend, Hiro Yoshida, arrived with a crew from his restaurant carrying the wedding cake and the food for the reception. The cake was a decadent six foot high creation with five tiers, decorated with angels, swans, doves, and enough candy flowers to fill a dozen floral shops. Keiichi was about to complain about the massive overkill of the oversized confection until Megumi reminded him that the cake was her and Hiro's gift to Kei and Belldandy for their wedding day, and that it was rude to refuse such a gracious gift. Even so, the couple knew they had plenty of wedding cake to munch on as leftovers for a long time.

As expected, Belldandy attempted to enter the kitchen to help Hiro's crew prepare the food, but the chef stood at the door of the kitchen and shook his head vigorously.

"No, Belldandy. This is your day. Let us take care of the food. We promise we won't poison the guests." Hiro said jokingly.

Belldandy backed down, but she didn't like it. She always considered the kitchen to be her exclusive domain, where she endeavored to make the best food for Keiichi. She wasn't used to having strangers taking over her space. "But I just want to make sure that everything will be all right."

But Hiro wouldn't budge. "Belldandy, I have cooked for many weddings, we have one of the best catering businesses in Nekomi City. Our reputation for excellence is known even in Tokyo. I have never had a bride complain about the food at any wedding I have worked. And I will not have you be the first. So, please let me and my crew give you the wedding you and Keiichi deserve."

"Okay", Bell said hesitantly. "But let me know if you need anything."

Hiro shook his head and turned back into the kitchen.

The flower arrangers from Nekomi Tech arrived with a massive spread of all kinds of flowers of all shapes and sizes and colors. Some of the plants were native to Japan, but many came from overseas. And as Keiichi looked at the NIT students putting together the presentation, he had to admit that it was a good idea to go with the hobbyists. He certainly wasn't going to argue about the price. And it seemed that the students were really getting into arranging the flowers so that the colors complemented each other, and the balance between large blooms and dainty flowers was just right. Quite a difference from the crazy, unbalanced color clashing explosions that decorated the flower geeks' booth at Spring Carnival.

Keiichi continued to watch the flower arrangers as they puttered around the temple engaging in animated discussions as to which roses belonged with which begonias, and whether the daffodils looked better with the tulips or the lilies. The sound of a horn and a familiar rumble of a motorcycle engine interrupted his reverie.

He ran outside in time to see an old 1972 Datsun 510 sedan and a classic Matchless M50 motorcycle pull into the temple courtyard. It was his and Megumi's parents, Keima and Takano.

A pair of odd ducks indeed, Keima dismounted from the Matchless and pulled off his helmet. Keima stood about a couple of inches taller than Keiichi, had a shock of gray hair that resisted all attempts of being smoothed out, and having a full-face helmet on didn't help any. He wore glasses and had a permanently worried look on his face. He looked like Keiichi with about 30 years added on.

By trade, Keima was a expert glassblower, but he also was an ace mechanic, who could fix almost anything that had wheels and an engine. He was a man of few words, and when he did speak, it was as if he had measured out each word from a finite supply, and was deathly afraid that he would run out.

He and Takano taught Keiichi and Megumi to never, ever refer to them as Mom and Dad to their faces. Always by their first names. Keima felt that the use of titles like Father, Mother, Brother and Sister denigrated the worth of the individual. The use of of those titles to Keima was a surefire way to get a slap in the face.

Keima also had an almost paralyzing fear of women. Whenever a strange woman stepped up to him for no other reason but to offer pleasantries, Keima would immediately back away in a cold sweat, a look of abject terror coming over his face, while almost shouting, "Too close!, Too close." The only women who were allowed to stand within a meter of him were Megumi and Takano. During a recent visit by the parents to the temple, Belldandy earned her way into that exclusive club, through the goodness and kindness she showed Keiichi. But othewise, Keima was in a constant state of nervousness, especially knowing that Urd was in the area and was always a threat to coming over and standing too close to him just to mess with him.

As skittish and twitchy as Keima was, his wife Takano was the exact opposite. She was the spitting image of Megumi plus ten years. Her bushy hair was tied in two puffy ponytails at the back of her head, and she spoke with an easygoing drawl that clearly showed her Hokkaido roots. But anyone who mistook her Northern accent as proof that she was an ignorant country bumpkin from the sticks was playing right into her hands. While her main job was assisting Keima in his glassblower's shop, she was as smart as a tack, and loved to lure people in with her unsophisticated image only to snare them like trapped small animals with her quick wit and mind. She was the perfect complement to Keima.

Takano walked up to Keiichi. "So, Keiichi. My little boy's gonna get married. It's about time. I figured Megumi would be walking down the aisle before you. You were always so bad around women."

"Well, Takano, I guess that's where I take after Keima. At least I can have them standing next to me without freaking out."

"That is true, Keiichi. I can't break him of that habit for the life of me. Speaking of which, here he comes now. By the way, here". Takano said, as she handed Keiichi a small box. "You will be needing this for the ceremony." Before he could ask what the package contained, Takano walked away to give father and son some privacy. Keiichi quickly looked inside the box, and sighed in relief.

Keima nervously walked up to his son, gave him a tentative embrace, and as if he was paying by the word, said merely, "Keiichi."

"Keima."

"Where are Belldandy's parents?"

"They couldn't make it, Keima. They had very important family business."

"So important that they couldn't come to see their daughter get married? That makes no sense."

"If you don't believe me, ask Belldandy."

Keima glared at Keiichi for a moment, then relented. "No. As unusual as it sounds, I believe you. But I still would have liked to meet them."

Keiichi remembered the cover story he used as an excuse for why he and Bell were gone for six months. "Her parents are pretty high up in a major company in San Francisco. They're the co-owners or something like that. They said they were at some important time in the company's business and they just couldn't spare the time. Some legal stuff. They tried to explain it to me, but it went completely over my head."

Keima didn't completely buy Keiichi's alibi, but he didn't have enough proof to call him on it, so he let it go. "Well, no matter." Keima looked Keiichi up and down. "You look good in that tux, boy. I would have preferred a traditional Japanese wedding myself. But you young people are into all that modern stuff."

Keiichi replied, "It's what Belldandy wanted. And whatever she wants, that's what I'm going to give her."

"You do that, You take care of her, she's very special Keiichi."

Before Keiichi had the chance to take the words back, the phrase, "I will, Father." spilled out of his mouth. Keima's face immediately flashed into a mask of insane anger. He reared back to strike his son, but caught himself just in time. Keiichi flinched in horror as he braced himself to receive the blow.

Keima looked back at his hand which was still cocked. He dropped it as he lowered his head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Keiichi. You're not a boy anymore."

"It slipped out, Keima."

"I know, Keiichi."

Awkwardly, Keima started backing away from Keiichi. "I-I have to find Takano." He stammered as he turned and shuffled away.

At that moment, Megumi appeared at Keiichi's side. "What was that all about?" She was in her bridesmaid dress and looked cuter than ever.

"I accidentally called Keima 'Father'"

"And he didn't slap you senseless?"

"He was about to, then he caught himself. Weird. He said that I wasn't a boy anymore, and then he just ran off."

Megumi looked intently at Keiichi. "You know, you have a different look about you. It's like there's a different kind of energy, an aura, around you now. You've always been this geeky, nervous guy who was so unsure of himself, and now, I sense a certain kind of...I can't explain it, but it's like a sort of 'power' that surrounds you. Like a new confidence, you seem much more sure of yourself. I can't explain it."

Keiichi said, "You said something like that to me some time ago."

Megumi replied, "Yeah, I remember. That was when Belldandy was sick, and I came over to help with the cooking. But it's a lot stronger now. You're not taking any strange drugs or following some off the wall religion or anything are you?"

"No, Meg." Keiichi said. "I'm the same Keiichi Morisato, you've always known and loved."

"Yeah, right Kei." Megumi laughed as she slapped him on the shoulder. "You're still a hopeless nerd, although with a hot girl like Belldandy by your side, you're obviously doing something right."

Megumi gave her brother a peck on the cheek, and said, "Maybe one day, she'll make a real man out of you yet. Although, I won't hold my breath."

Keiichi thought to himself, _"If she only knew..."_


	6. Part 6--The Wedding of Kei and Bell

**Chapter 9**

**2:00pm, December 25**

**Tarikihongan Temple.**

The wedding ceremony itself was to be held in the temple proper, rather than the house where Keiichi and the gang were living. Mostly because there wasn't nearly enough space in the Tea Room to house all the guests and the wedding party. Keiichi and Belldandy would exchange their vows under a flower-covered canopy in the sight of the massive gold and brass Buddha that filled the temple space. The number of guests came to about twenty or so. Mostly members of the Motor Club and a few acquaintances from school and town.

Originally, it was decided that there would be two blocks of seats for the bride and groom's guests, but after seeing that everyone wanted to sit on Belldandy's side of the hall, the seats for Keiichi's guests were removed. Standing to the left of the canopy were Bell's bridesmaids, all resplendent in their strapless blue dresses.

And to the right of the canopy were Tamiya and Ootaki fidgeting in their monkey suits, ogling the girls and generally yukking it up. They wanted to get the ceremony over with so they could start chowing down on the incredible spread that Hiro and his cooks had laid on, as well as the bottles of beer, sake and wine that were chilling on ice for the reception.

The bridesmaids were looking each other over, still agog at how Belldandy's creations had enhanced each girl's appearance. They still couldn't get over how well Hasegawa had blossomed when she put on the dress. Hasegawa was still stunned by the conversion and was excitedly bouncing around like a schoolgirl who had found the perfect outfit in which to go clubbing.

Standing under the canopy wearing a priest's vestments was the Reverend Hideki Kasunori, a friend of Chihiro's who was the pastor of a local Anglican church not far from the temple, who was more than happy to preside over Keiichi and Belldandy's wedding. A tall, thin older man with a large smile and a friendly disposition, Kasunori had met with Keiichi and Belldandy a few days prior to the wedding to discuss the ceremony, and knew from when he first met them, that they were meant for each other.

He had been doing pre-marital counseling for years, and had seen his share of couples who clearly weren't going to make it through the trials of marriage, much less past the wedding, and though he had tried to counsel them and give them the best preparation he could, he knew from long experience and keen observation which couples were destined to stay together, and which would inevitably be bound for divorce court.

But as soon as Hideki laid eyes on Kei and Bell, he knew. It was so clear to him, that this couple more than any he had ever counseled in his long years as a clergyman, were meant to be married. He was so convinced of Keiichi and Belldandy's compatibility, that beyond discussing what kind of ceremony they wanted to have, he gave them no pre-marital counseling at all, other than to take care of each other. "There's nothing more I can tell you two. You are perfect for each other." he said, his quiet and gentle voice quivering in awe at the sight before him.

A man of deep faith and spirituality, Kasunori could feel that there was a powerful bond between Keiichi and Belldandy that transcended mere love. While he knew that the couple were not Anglican, nor even Christian for that matter, he could sense that there was a supernatural force that surrounded and radiated between the God and his Goddess. These two had seen and experienced a lot together, they had given their lives to each other, Kasunori surmised. And while he could not discern what that force was, he knew that, somehow, this couple, more than any other he had counseled, would be all right.

Keiichi and Reverend Kasunori were standing by at the front of the canopy making small talk while waiting for Belldandy to enter the hall. The guests were talking amongst themselves speculating on Belldandy's gown. The Goddess made it abundantly clear that no one would see the wedding gown before the ceremony.

At exactly 2:00pm, from out of nowhere, an unseen choir sang a soft chorus of incomparable harmony and beauty. The sound filled the hall with its richness. Everyone in the hall looked around for the source of the music. Keiichi asked Kasunori, "Did we discuss anything about you bringing your church's choir here to provide music?" Kasunori, momentarily at a loss for words, shook his head. "No, not at all. It's definitely not my choir. We've never sounded this good."

Along with the choir was the sound of bells of all sizes in the background complementing the choral offering, not overpowering it.

The audience was overcome by the beautiful singing. The ceremony hadn't even started yet, and the handkerchiefs were coming out and the tears were flowing.

The door at the rear of the temple opened and there she stood...

**Belldandy.**

As one, everyone looked to the rear of the hall.

And everyone was struck silent at the sight of the Goddess.

She stood holding a small bouquet of flowers. Head up, and proud. A smile as wide as Heaven itself on her radiant face. Like she owned the place.

Keiichi's father, Keima, dignified in a gray tuxedo, had Belldandy on his arm as they slowly walked into the hall and towards the canopy and a waiting and stunned wedding party. And for the first time ever, Keima looked completely comfortable standing in close quarters with a woman.

Belldandy's waist length hair wasn't tied in the usual ponytail, but was arranged in a complex spiraling braid at the back of her head. And instead of it being its normal chestnut brown, it was blonde. Platinum blonde. Keiichi knew what that signified. Belldandy removed the earring that acted as a restraint for her power. She was unfettered. In full charge of all of her power. She could destroy the Earth, if she so desired. Keiichi thought to himself, _"What is she doing? She's only allowed to release her full power with Kami-sama's permission. I hope she's not expecting some sort of trouble."_

And the gown...

At the sight of that gown, thirty jaws hit the ground simultaneously.

It was pure white, almost as bright as the sun. Strapless and snug at the bodice like her bridesmaid's dresses, only studded with hundreds of tiny pearls, and flared out into a flowing full length skirt with layers and layers of petticoats. The train was at least six feet long. Belldandy's veil was almost as if a cloud of wispy vapor had settled over her face and head. It looked like it could break up in the slightest breeze. It was a beautiful gown in it's own right, but it was transformed into a true spectacle when Belldandy wore it. It was perfect in every detail. The way it flowed and moved as Belldandy walked down the aisle, if one didn't know better, they could swear that the gown was actually alive.

A collective sigh came from the mesmerized audience as Belldandy arrived at the canopy. She gave Keima a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Keima." She said as he backed away.

He said to Keiichi, "Because Belldandy's parents weren't here, she asked me to give her away. It was my pleasure."

Keiichi said, "Thank you, Keima."

"Thank _you_, son."

Keiichi was about to protest when Keima put his finger to his mouth to schuss him. "Just this once, okay?" Keima said, as he tipped Keiichi a wink.

Kei and Bell turned to Reverend Kasunori, who was still entranced by the heavenly visage standing before him and was struck dumb.

Keiichi whispered, "Father, you can start now."

Kasunori, like the pro he was, didn't miss a beat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered together in this place to witness the joining together of Keiichi Morisato and Belldandy. Two lives who have chosen to become as one in Holy Matrimony." After a moment's pause, Kasunori continued, "Marriage is a sacred and binding obligation. One that must not be entered into frivolously, or for personal gain. If there is anyone here, who knows of a reason why these two should not be joined together, let them speak now."

A high pitched shriek came from the bridesmaid's side of the hall. "I object, I-I-I-mmmph" before it was immediately silenced by a non too happy Urd.

Kasunori looked at Urd, "Is there an objection noted?"

Urd said will grinning like a Cheshire cat, "No, Padre. No objections, Move along. Nothing to see here," as she held her hand firmly clamped over the mouth of her younger sister Skuld, who was squirming and protesting mightily to no avail.

Kasunori continued. "In place of the usual vows, Keiichi and Belldandy have chosen to use their own. You may proceed, Keiichi.

Kei and Bell turned to each other and held hands. Keiichi could feel the power rippling between them through the Sacred Coupling. Her power was merging with his at a level that only they could perceive and understand. The vows they spoke were but a mere shell of the true energy and commitment that was passing between them. Keiichi began:

"Belldandy,. In the presence of these who witness these vows, I swear that I will always love you, honor you, cherish you, protect you, stand beside you and make you the center of my life. In the sunshine, and the rain, in good times and bad. In danger and in safety. My life and all that have and am, is yours, as yours is mine. From this day forward, there is no you or me, there is only us. I will live for you, and if necessary, will die for you. Dearest Belldandy, I have but one wish. I wish that a woman like you, would stay by my side forever."

Tears came to Belldandy's eyes as Keiichi said these words. She knew that there was but one answer:

"Keiichi, when I first met you four years ago, I somehow knew that we were destined to stand in this holy place before our friends and loved ones and pledge to live our lives as one. All this time, you have taken me into your life, and loved me, cherished me, made me the center of your existence. Even when you couldn't put those feelings into words, I knew that you loved me and only me. We have seen and experienced so much together, and even through the bad times, you've never turned your back on me or abandoned me. You have always put me and my feelings before your own, and I owe you my life. I make this vow before all these witnesses that I will always be by your side. I will always love you, cherish you, defend you, and will grow old with you. I want to bear your children. You will be at the core of my life, and my love for you will be as strong a hundred years from now, as it is today."

The tears were really flowing in the audience now. Even Ootaki and Tamiya were bawling like oversized babies. The bridesmaids were going through tissues by the boxful. And while Rev. Kasunori had officiated at hundreds of weddings, even he was unable to stifle a stray tear as it rolled down his face. _ "If only other couples had shown this much devotion to each other,"_ he thought.

After Belldandy finished her vow, Kasunori said to the audience, "You have witnessed the vows of these two wonderful people, and now they will seal those vows with the exchanging of the rings.

Keiichi reached into his pocket, fingering the small box Takano gave him, he opened it and pulled out a beautiful gold ring with two diamonds set into it. He held out Belldandy's hand as he slipped the ring on her finger, it fit perfectly. "This ring belonged to my grandmother. Takano promised to give it to whomever got married first, either me or Megumi. So now, I'm presenting it to you as a token of my love and affection for you."

Belldandy was overcome with emotion. "It's beautiful, Keiichi. I shall never take it off. Here." Bell produced a ring of her own. From where on that gown, no one knew. It was also made of gold with a series of fine runes engraved in the surface. "It's a very special ring, that I had made right after you proposed to me." She placed the ring on his finger, and he could feel power transferring from the warm metal into him. Belldandy said quietly, for him alone. "The runes convey a special meaning. And I'll explain it to you when we're on our honeymoon."

Kausnori finished the ceremony. "Now that the rings have been exchanged, and the vows sealed, It is my privilege and honor to pronounce you man and wife. Keiichi, you may kiss your bride."

Keiichi lifted the veil and beheld his Goddess's face. So pure, so wonderful, and yet so powerful. He caressed Bell's face as he kissed her passionately. An odor of fresh flowers overwhelmed his senses, and he once again heard Belldandy's laughter and overwhelming sense of peace surround him.

When they separated, Kasunori said triumphantly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise as it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, Keiichi and Belldandy Morisato!"

Belldandy Morisato, that had a nice ring to it.

The crowd rose and applauded loudly and cheered vigorously as Keiichi and Belldandy headed down the aisle and out of the temple, man and wife, God and Goddess.


	7. Part 7

**Chapter 10**

**3:00pm, December 25**

**Tarikihongan Temple.**

The wedding party and guests moved into the temple house for the reception. The Tea Room served as the main dining hall where Chef Hiro and his crew took over the entire space and laid out table upon table of both traditional Japanese fare and also some Western delicacies that he wanted to try out on his guests. And judging by the number of people who indulged in second and third helpings of the smorgasbord, Hiro's reputation was enhanced a hundred-fold. No doubt, he was going to be getting a lot of return business from the guests who buzzed and raved about the incredible variety and quality of the entrees, appetizers and desserts that he and his cooks worked so hard to produce.

Even Tamiya and Ootaki, who were known for ravaging buffets like Viking Berserkers were on their best behavior. After getting a stern reminder from Chihiro that such nonsense would not be tolerated at Keiichi and Belldandy's wedding, the two managed to act in a manner approaching civilized.

A room normally used for storage was cleared out and made into an impromptu dance floor and gathering spot where guests could dance the night away and try their luck at karaoke. As the day wore on, and the alcohol started to take its toll, the singing got progressively worse, as well as the dancing.

At the head table sat the guests of honor, Keiichi and his new bride, Belldandy. Before them sat a mountain of gifts and presents. He and Belldandy took turns opening presents to the delight of the guests who ooh-ed and ahh-ed each gift as it was presented. Some of the presents were household items sorely needed by the newlyweds, others were joke gifts that caused Keiichi no end of embarrassment. Belldandy, as usual, took the jokes in stride, enjoying each and every gift presented in her own special way.

The time had come for the honorary first dance for the bride and groom. Keiichi was never known as a great dancer. To say he had two left feet was a major understatement. It took more than a little coaxing by Belldandy to get him out on to the dance floor. He didn't want to spoil such a beautiful day by doing the awkward lurching that passed for his dancing, especially in front of Belldandy. But she reassured him that it didn't matter whether he could dance or not.

"Keiichi, I didn't marry you because of your dancing ability. I married you because I love you and want to spend the rest of my days with you. Now, please come out here and dance with me. It's all right. "

"O-okay, Belldandy." He stammered, as he and Bell walked to the center of the floor. The guests stood in a wide circle surrounding the couple as the music started. Keiichi put his arm around Bell's waist, as he held her other hand out to the side. His first steps were tentative and clumsy, but Belldandy whispered to him, "Keiichi, relax. I've got you. Just follow my lead."

She slowly and gently led Keiichi around the dance floor, skillfully doing it in a way that made it look like Keiichi was taking the lead. Silently encouraging her new husband through the Sacred Coupling. Keiichi started to relax, and soon his confidence was growing. Before long, he had felt completely at ease in Belldandy's arms. He looked into her eyes, as they danced around the room. He saw nothing but complete contentment. Belldandy was in her special place where she felt the unconditional love of her man. She noticed that Keiichi was looking at her, and she moved in closer, smiling. Her heart overflowing with joy. She laid her head on his shoulder, saying, "I love you, Keiichi. I just want to stay like this, with you, forever."

This was a signal for the rest of the wedding guests to join in. Keiichi looked over and saw Takano and Keima in an embrace as they expertly made their way along the floor. He had never seen his mother and father dance before, much less as well as they were twirling and spinning to the music.

Megumi grabbed her boyfriend, Hiro and pretty soon they were slow dancing on the floor, arms around each other, looking into each other's eyes. Speaking thoughts and words for them and them alone. Dancing to a rhythm and a tune that none but them could hear.

After watching his little sister, Keiichi quipped, "It looks like there will be another wedding in the Morisato family pretty soon. Meg seems to have found herself a keeper. At least she won't be mooching around the temple so often."

Belldandy laughed. "I think we'll still be seeing a lot of Megumi. She loves her big brother too much to leave him alone."

Kei had been dancing with Belldandy for about a half an hour when Urd came up to him.  
"Keiichi. There's a telephone call for you. It sounds very important."

"Who is it, Urd."

"You'll find out, when you talk to him."

"_What does THAT mean?"_

"Urd, this isn't one of your silly pranks, is it?"

Urd looked slightly offended by Keiichi's remark. "No, Keiichi. This is definitely not a prank, and the person on the line is not one that you should keep waiting. He asked specifically for you, so I'd hop to it, if you know what's good for you!"

Keiichi was still thinking that Urd was pulling his leg as he picked up the receiver.

"Who ever this is" Keiichi said with a touch of irritation, "I'm kind of busy right now, so please make it quick."

A deep majestic voice rumbled.

"Keiichi Morisato."

"Who is this?"

"This is Kami-sama."

"THE Kami-sama? The Ruler of Heaven? The Almighty One?"

"I am known by those names, among others."

Realizing who he was talking to, Keiichi reflexively stood at attention, spine rigid.

"Y-yes, Kami-sama? I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend you." Keiichi apologized.

"No matter, Keiichi. No offense taken. I understand that my contacting you by telephone is a bit unusual. I apologize if I am calling at an inconvenient time."

"No, no problem at all." Keiichi said nervously. "Um, if you need to speak to Belldandy, please hold and I'll get her for you."

"No, Keiichi. It is not Belldandy that I need to speak to, it is you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Did I do something wrong? Are you angry with me about something?"

"What makes you think that I am angry with you?" Kami-sama said, slightly puzzled.

"When people in authority over me call, I have a bad habit of thinking that I did something wrong."

"Rest assured, Keiichi." Kami-sama said gently. "You have done nothing wrong. If anything, I have some very important matters to discuss with you. In person."

"In p-person?"

"Yes, Keiichi. What I must tell you cannot be discussed over such a primitive and unsecured device like a telephone. I will need to speak to you and Belldandy in person, in Heaven. I have been notified by Lind that you and Belldandy are now married."

"Yes, sir. We just got married a little while ago. Is there a problem?"

"No, Not at all, Keiichi. Please understand, while I am somewhat familiar with the concept, we in Heaven do not have such an institution as marriage. In fact, Belldandy is the first goddess on record to marry an Earthling. And hopefully, not the last" A pause. "I am told that marriage is a very important occasion on Earth."

"It's one of the most important things an Earth man and woman can do."

"I believe the correct protocol is to congratulate a newly married couple on their wedding?"

"You are correct, Kami-sama."

"Well then, Let me congratulate you on this grand occasion. I trust that I am putting Belldandy in good hands?"

"Definitely, Kami-sama. I would never let any harm come to Belldandy."

"Your recent actions in terms of how you dealt with Hild have led me believe that your words and commitment to Belldandy are true My confidence and trust in you is very high."

"About that. I'm sorry I cast Lava Wind Barrage. I didn't know that spell was on the Restricted List."

"Do not worry about that incident. Who do you think allowed you to override Yggdrasil's programming against casting that sort of spell in the first place?"

" That was you?"

"Very much so. Belldandy is one of our shining stars, as well as a Norn. Her protection is paramount to the very existence of Heaven and the universe. By the way, The way you used Hild's power against her to free Belldandy from that energy cage was very innovative. A touch unorthodox, but very effective. You are to be commended."

"Thank you, Kami-sama."

"I will be needing to speak with you regarding the matters I mentioned as soon as possible. Can you and Belldandy come to Heaven and meet with me within three Earth Days?"

"We were going to spend our honeymoon in Heaven anyway, so it would be no problem for us to meet with you."

"Very good. That reminds me. About what you two did up on Windsong Ridge?"

Keiichi gulped. "You know about that?"

"I am Kami-sama, Keiichi. I know everything. Do not worry. Everyone does that up on Windsong Ridge." Kami-sama's chuckle unnerved Keiichi for a moment. "I shall see you in three Earth days, and make sure that you do not bring Urd and Skuld with you. As Second Class Goddesses, they aren't cleared to hear about what we have to discuss. Goodbye, Keiichi Morisato."

Kami-sama rang off the line. Keiichi's mind was a whirlwind of questions and speculation. What was so important that Kami-sama would want to speak with him and Belldandy in person? He stewed and ruminated over the Divine One's words as he returned back to the head table. Belldandy was sitting down at the head table, chatting pleasantly with guests.

"Keiichi, who was that on the phone?" Bell asked.

"Walk with me, Bell."

Belldandy stood and walked with Keiichi out of the room, arm in arm.

"That was Kami-sama." Keiichi said with concern.

"The Almighty One?" Bell said, her voice quavering.

"Yes. He has very important business to discuss with us in Heaven. We'll need to meet with him in three days."

"Hmm. That is very interesting. I wonder what it is he wants to speak with us about?"

"He didn't say. I guess we'll find out when we get there. And he said that we have to come alone, Urd and Skuld can't come with us."

Belldandy's face brightened. "Well, the good part is that we'll have some time to ourselves before seeing Kami-sama. Even Urd and Skuld aren't foolish enough to violate an order from him."

Even Keiichi had to laugh at that observation. "Kami-sama said that they aren't cleared to hear about what he has to say to us."

When Keiichi said that, Bell's mind went back to what Lind had said before she left to return to Heaven. She wondered whether there was a connection between what the Warrior Goddess had said regarding her return being an Iridium-level secret and what Keiichi had just told her.

"Well, Keiichi." Belldandy said. "We will find out what it is Kami-sama wants with us soon enough. But for now, we have a reception to preside over, and later tonight, there is something that I read in one of those wedding magazines concerning the consummation of a marriage?"

The way Belldandy finished her sentence and the gleam that appeared in her eye as she said it told Keiichi that he was in for a very long night indeed. And he didn't mind that one bit.

**Chapter 11**

**8:30am December 26**

**Keiichi's Bedroom**

The alarm went off as Keiichi emerged from of his slumber. He looked over to his left and saw his bride Belldandy laying beside him. Her long hair spilled over her face as she slept peacefully.

The reception was a success. The party lasted until well after midnight. It looked like everyone was having a lot of fun. Tamiya and Ootaki made a sizable dent in the food and booze, but still managed to behave themselves reasonably well, for them.

Hasegawa was still over the moon due to the dress. With a confidence that had never been seen in the insecure girl before, she had danced with every guy in the hall, and managed to give her phone number to a few of them. Chihiro and Urd parked themselves at the bar and watched the party unfold before them with a detached boredom, being women who had seen it all, and did most of it. Skuld was still sulking after not being allowed to give her objection to Keiichi and Belldandy's wedding. But a couple of pints of premium ice cream chased her blues away.

Kei and Bell sat at the head table receiving congratulations and adulation from all the guests. For a while, Keiichi still couldn't believe that he and Belldandy were actually married. He couldn't believe his good luck in snagging such a perfect woman. Sometimes he wondered whether the last four years were a big elaborate dream, and that he'd wake up in his tiny bedroom back in the Nekomi Tech men's dorm, with Tamiya and Ootaki bellowing at him to rise and shine. But then he looked at the Goddess lying beside him, knowing that this perfect woman, this unlimited Goddess was really his wife, his lover, and most of all, his friend. It was no dream, all too real.

The two finally got to bed around 2 am, and immediately got to work consummating their marriage. Belldandy learned a few new tricks from that wedding magazine she read, and after all was said and done, Keiichi once again was grateful that he was a God now, because if she had tried some of what she learned on him while he was human...let's just say there wouldn't be enough left of him to put in a coffee cup. Because he was a God, Keiichi was experiencing the fullness of Belldandy's passion. She didn't hold back when they first made love, and she certainly wasn't now that they were married. If anything, Belldandy was even more eager to show Keiichi the depths of her love and desire for him. Because the union that was created in Heaven now had legitimacy on Earth. Everyone of their friends now knew that Keiichi and Belldandy were now two who had become one.

Today, the couple would leave on their honeymoon. Keiichi apologized to Chihiro for taking off again during an important time in Whirlwind's busy season, but Chihiro would have none of it. Pressing a thick envelope into his hand, the spicy mechanic said, "Keiichi, if you _don't_ take time off to have fun with that new bride of yours, I will fire you. I can handle things here at the shop for a while. There will be plenty of work for you and Belldandy when you get back. Now go away, and have a good time." Keiichi didn't need to be told twice.

He and Belldandy packed a few belongings and strapped them to the sidecar of the motorcycle. Where they were going, they didn't need what they were packing, it was all a show. Keiichi knew that Urd and Skuld would find out where they were going and would ruin any chance of the newlyweds having some much desired time alone, so prior to the wedding, he got some brochures of a popular traditional Japanese inn in the southern part of Japan around Nagasaki, and casually laid them around the temple especially in areas where Urd and Skuld would surely find them. He also dropped in conversation the name of the inn when the two were around. As Belldandy was a First Class Goddess and forbidden to tell lies, Keiichi did all the talking, because the ban did not extend to Gods. After saying good-bye to the sisters, he and Belldandy departed the temple and headed south in the direction of the supposed love nest. Once they had traveled far enough, they dropped the bike off at an out of the way location, summoned the Gate and left for Heaven.

As predicted, Urd and Skuld fully intended to crash Kei and Bell's honeymoon. They headed to the inn in question only to find a very surprised and somewhat perturbed innkeeper who insisted that a couple matching Keiichi and Belldandy's description had certainly not arrived, and wasn't expected, and would they please leave because they were disturbing the other guests.

"Why the nerve of that Keiichi!" Skuld said angrily. "He led us on a wild goose chase, just because he didn't want us tagging along. I bet I know where he took Big Sis."

"Oh, I know exactly where they went, Skuld." Urd said with a sly smile. "I saw through that lame charade from the very beginning. They're up in Heaven."

"How do you know, Urd?"

"Keiichi received a phone call yesterday from Kami-sama."

Skuld stammered. "The Almighty One?"

"The Big Man himself." Urd responded.

"What did he want with Keiichi?"

"He wouldn't tell me, but I'm sure that it's something pretty big. Kami-sama just doesn't call people out of the blue unless it's very important."

"Urd, if you knew that this whole inn thing was a decoy, why are we here?"

Urd didn't miss a beat. "Because it was a good opportunity to get away from the temple for a while and take a nice long trip."

Skuld wasn't having it. "Yeah, right Urd. You're lying again."

"How do you know I'm lying?"Urd said indignantly.

"Because your lips are moving." Skuld laughed.

"Skuld, be glad that I'm in a good mood. Because the next time you mouth off, Banpei will be in a million little tiny pieces, and even you won't be able to put him back together again."

"You wouldn't..."

"Try me." Urd said evilly.

"So. Are we going to follow them and see what they are up to?"

"I dunno. We should respect their privacy and give them some time alone together. On the other hand, I really want to know what it is that Kami-sama wants with Keiichi."

Skuld thought for a moment. "I might be of some use here. Remember when I said that I had installed back doors all over Yggdrasil?"

Urd said warily. "Why am I not going to like what I am about to hear?"

Skuld was undeterred. "I can hack into Yggdrasil and eavesdrop on Kami-sama's private conference room."

"You wouldn't..."

"Try me." said Skuld a smug look on her face.

Urd patted Skuld on the head and said admiringly, "I taught you well, little Skuld. You might be of some use yet."

Skuld calmly removed Urd's hand from her head and said, "You didn't teach me anything, Urd, and I'm more useful than you think. Let's get back to the temple, so I can set up."

Urd looked around the Inn and said, "We have plenty of time, Skuld. While we're here, I'm in the mood for a nice hot soothing bath. Wanna join me?"

"Can we send the bill to Keiichi for trying to put one over on us?"

"Of course. We'll live it up for a couple of days and charge it to Keiichi. He must of gotten a ton of money from the guests at the reception. He can easily afford to spring for a nice time at a traditional Japanese inn for us."

Both sisters laughed nastily as they checked into the inn.


End file.
